About half of all 16- to 18-year-olds coming into New York City’s jails say they had a traumatic brain injury before being incarcerated, most caused by assaults, reports the Associated Press. The findings come in a new study published in The Journal of Adolescent Health, the latest in a growing body of research documenting head trauma among young offenders.
Experts say the findings could lead to better training for correction officers on how to deal with the possible symptoms of such trauma, which include problems with impulse control and decision-making. The peer-reviewed study was based on medical brain injury questionnaires given to 300 boys and 84 girls inside the nation’s second-largest jail system in 2012. The study found nearly 50 percent of both boys and girls reported traumatic brain injuries that resulted in a loss of consciousness, amnesia or both. They said 55 percent of those injuries were caused by assaults.