Prisoner knowledge about head injury is Improved by brief psychoeducation

The high prevalence of head injury (HI) in prisoners and its association with offending indicates a need for interventions. However, there is little evidence and none for the effectiveness of psychoeducation in improving prisoner knowledge about HI and its effects. Small groups of males in two Scottish prisons underwent a 1 hour psychoeducation session delivered by PowerPoint and combined with question and answer, video clips and a booklet about HI. A pre-post intervention design was used to assess knowledge about HI from vignettes. Participants indicated effects of HI using unprompted free recall and then with a questionnaire (the Symptom Checklist; SCL), pre-education (n = 34), post-education (n = 19) and at 4-week follow-up (n = 11). Free recall was scored using symptom lists from national guidelines (FR-SIGN) or the SCL (FR-SCL). Within-subject comparisons were made between pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up scores. Knowledge about HI significantly increased pre- to post-education for FR-SIGN (<i>d = </i>0.91; 95% CI 0.62, 2.53) and FR-SCL (<i>d</i> = 0.99; 95% CI 0.95, 4.00) without decrement at follow-up (FR-SIGN <i>d = </i>1.27; 95% CI 0.53, 2.56; FR-SCL <i>r = </i>0.60). Scores on the SCL did not change over time (p &gt; .05). Prisoner knowledge about HI was improved by brief psychoeducation suitable for delivery in prisons.

囚犯群体中颅脑损伤（Head Injury, HI）的高患病率及其与违法犯罪行为的关联，提示亟需开展针对性干预措施。然而，目前关于心理宣教（Psychoeducation）在提升囚犯对颅脑损伤及其影响的认知方面的有效性证据极少，且尚无相关研究支撑。苏格兰两所监狱的男性囚犯以小团体形式参与了一场时长1小时的心理宣教课程，课程以幻灯片（PowerPoint）形式开展，结合了问答互动、视频片段以及颅脑损伤宣教手册。本研究采用干预前后对照设计，借助情景材料（vignettes）评估囚犯对颅脑损伤的认知水平。参与者首先通过无提示自由回忆的方式报告颅脑损伤的相关影响，随后填写症状核查表（Symptom Checklist, SCL）。研究分别在宣教前（n=34）、宣教后（n=19）以及4周随访阶段（n=11）收集数据。自由回忆得分分别依据国家指南中的症状清单（FR-SIGN）或症状核查表（FR-SCL）进行计算。对干预前、干预后及随访阶段的得分进行被试内比较分析。基于FR-SIGN（d=0.91；95%置信区间[0.62, 2.53]）与FR-SCL（d=0.99；95%置信区间[0.95, 4.00]）的评估结果显示，宣教后囚犯对颅脑损伤的认知水平较宣教前显著提升，且该提升效应在随访阶段未出现衰减（FR-SIGN：d=1.27；95%置信区间[0.53, 2.56]；FR-SCL：r=0.60）。症状核查表的得分随时间未出现显著变化（p>0.05）。适用于监狱场景的简短心理宣教，可有效提升囚犯对颅脑损伤的认知水平。