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）的高患病率及其与犯罪行为的关联，凸显了开展针对性干预措施的必要性。然而，目前相关研究证据十分有限，尚无证据表明心理教育能够有效提升囚犯对颅脑损伤及其危害的认知水平。本研究让苏格兰两所监狱的男性小群体参与了时长1小时的颅脑损伤相关心理教育课程，授课形式涵盖幻灯片演示、问答互动、视频片段讲解以及配套手册发放。研究采用干预前后对照设计，通过情境 vignettes评估参与者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阐述颅脑损伤的相关影响，随后填写症状自评量表（Symptom Checklist, SCL）。本次研究分别在教育前（n=34）、教育后（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SCL量表（FR-SCL）进行评定。研究对干预前、干预后及随访阶段的得分开展组内比较分析，结果显示：FR-SIGN（d=0.91；95%置信区间[CI]：0.62, 2.53）与FR-SCL（d=0.99；95%CI：0.95, 4.00）的得分均在教育后较教育前出现显著提升，且该提升效果在随访阶段未出现衰减（FR-SIGN：d=1.27；95%CI：0.53, 2.56；FR-SCL：r=0.60）。而SCL量表得分未随时间出现显著变化（p>0.05）。综上，适配监狱场景开展的简短心理教育课程，可有效提升囚犯对颅脑损伤的认知水平。