Quarter of prisoners have suffered traumatic brain injury, study suggests

Brain injuries can result in emotional and personality changes such as impulsiveness, aggression or poorer judgment of control or temper, research shows

19 year old inmate James looks out of the window of the Young Offenders Institution attached to Norwich Prison on August 25, 2005 in Norwich, England. (Getty)

One in four prisoners in Scotland have hospitalalised with a traumatic brain injury at some point in their lives, according to a new study.

An estimated 10 per cent of inmates have also suffered a severe or multiple head injuries that are likely to lead to a persistent disability, researchers at the the University of Glasgow said.

Collated in collaboration with the Scottish Prison Service, the findings show that brain injuries can result in emotional and personality changes such as impulsiveness, aggression or poorer judgment of control or temper.

The prevalence of hospital admissions was found to be high in prisoners (25 per cent) compared to the general population from similar backgrounds (18 per cent), researchers said.

Tom McMillan, professor of clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Glasgow, said the findings suggested further research and work is needed to support prisoners with head injuries and potentially stop them reoffending.

“To adequately address these issues we needed to estimate not just how many prisoners may have had a head injury at some point in their lives, but how many are likely to have persisting disability and need help – many people recover after a single, non-serious head injury,” he said.

The study backs findings by specialists from the universities of Oxford, Exeter, Manchester, Glasgow and Sheffield last year which found more than half of criminals may have suffered a head injury which could be fuelling their offending.

Published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, the study found that up to 60 per cent of people in custody have suffered some kind of head injury in the past, ranging from mild to severe.