Sunday, June 19, 2011

*Are Dysfunctional Parenting, Childhood Trauma,
And Aggressive Behavior Linked Somehow?*

     Could a traumatized adolescent’s aggressive behavior lead to criminal
activity?  It is my belief that several factors contribute to trauma,
addiction, and criminal activity.  Hundreds of addicts I’ve spoken to have
experienced some sort of childhood trauma.  This trauma could be associated
with mental health problems.  For example traumatic brain injury has already
been linked to depression and addiction.  Why not to criminal behavior? It
makes sense.  A child that was severely beaten may grow up with anger
problems.  These problems can manifest in the school setting as school
referrals.  Those adolescents that engage in physical altercations could
wind up with battery charges.  Our jails are full of angry and hurt
adolescents that are eventually diagnosed with Conduct Disorder or
Oppositional Defiant Disorder.  Where do these disorders stem from?  How
does a child become resentful and angry?  How does this aggressive behavior
lead to criminal activity and what is the link between addiction and
criminal activity?  Addicts everywhere are trying to medicate their pain
through the use of substances.  Does anybody know where the pain comes
from?  What exactly is the pain and why doesn’t the pain just go away?  Why
can’t addicts just stop using and why can’t criminals refrain from breaking
the law?  Is there a connection between dysfunctional parenting that leads
to childhood trauma and aggressive behavior?  Perhaps this traumatized
adolescent’s aggressive behavior might lead to criminal activity.  And if
this is the case, how can we as a community deal with this problem?  That
child that’s being spanked, beaten, or sexually abused across the street
could grow up to be an adult that commits crimes to support his habit.
Should you have called the police and reported child abuse or should you
have minded your own business and allowed the abuse to continue?

     Getting involved can literally save lives.  I’ve heard that it takes a
whole village to raise a child.  My question is what are we raising?  Are we
raising an addict, a prostitute, a burglar, a forger?  I set out to find out
if childhood trauma is linked to addiction, mental health issues, and
criminal activity.  I interviewed 100 inmates in the jail setting and this
is what I found.  89% experienced dysfunctional parenting and childhood
trauma.  96% admitted to having substance abuse disorders.  96% admitted to
having mental health disorders.  51% admitted to being molested or raped.
All 96 inmates interviewed admitted to being addicts said they are
medicating some sort of pain experienced as children.  Their stories were
horrific.  They are broken humans dumped on the correctional system.  I’m an
advocate for in-jail programs that address mental health and addiction
issues.  Our Florida jails have become the popular dumping ground for this
population.  Once they leave custody, there is no safety net to ensure
continuing care.  These people are released into the community to fend for
themselves.  Many can’t afford insurance and can’t pay for psychotropic
medications.  They don’t have or can’t get jobs because of their records.
Their families have turned away from them because they’re just fed up with
them.  They have no support system, they’re unemployed, or have little or no
treatment options.  All of a sudden they go on survival mode. They go back
to the only thing they know, hustling.  They wind up right back in jail.
They are set up to fail by society.   Our village just raised another
generation of addict criminals.  It takes approximately $30,000 to house an
inmate in prison.  It takes approximately $2,000.00 to send an inmate-addict
to treatment in Central Florida.  What makes more sense to you? According to
the “Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons by Florida Medical Examiners 2009
Report,” more than 171,300 people died in Florida in the year 2009.  Of
those reported deaths, 8,653 were drug-related deaths.  Most of the people
that died and were considered drug-related had more than one drug in their
system at the time of death.  This article expresses solely my opinion and
does not represent any organization and does not seek to give legal or
medical advice. By Julia Jankowski, M.Ed., Certified Addiction Professional, Certified
Mental Health Professional, Civil Competency Evaluator

 

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