Four out of five males in prison have a history of head injury
Published: 19 March 2025
New research has found that four out of five males in prison have a history of significant head injury, with many having been exposed to repeated head injuries over time
New research has found that four out of five males in prison have a history of significant head injury, with many having been exposed to repeated head injuries over time.
Led by the University of Glasgow and published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, this latest research highlights both the very high prevalence and the impacts of significant head injury among Scotland’s adult male population. This is the third study in a series on head injuries among Scotland’s prisoners, which has already found similar findings in women and young males.
Currently, adult male prisoners comprise more than 90% of the prison population. In this study sample of 286 adult males, demographically representative of approximately 8,000 adult males in prison in Scotland, significant head injury was found in 86% of the prisoners. The research also showed that 35% of that group – 151 of the study participants overall – had experienced repeated head injuries routinely over long periods of time. The most frequent cause was violence, although many had head injuries from many causes.
Disability was associated with significant head injury in 35% of those studied, and while the research found a strong association with problematic drug or alcohol use, a history of serious head injury was also associated with clinical anxiety and clinical depression. Disability after head injury was also associated with difficulties with social relationships, and poorer self-control, for example with temper, all risk factors for criminal behaviour.
Prisoners who had experienced significant head injury were also more likely to have had more arrests, charges and convictions and at younger ages, and were at greater risk of involvement in violent crime and property offences than those prisoners without head injury.
Professor Tom McMillan, lead author of the study from the University of Glasgow, said: “Our study reveals important new information on both the prevalence and the impacts of significant head injury in male offenders in Scotland, which builds on our previous findings about young male offenders and women offenders.
“Overall, our study shows that a history of repeated serious head injury is, very common in adult males in prison, and is associated with a greater risk of crime, including violence. There is persisting disability associated with serious head injury in male prisoners that often affects social relationships and is linked with multiple health problems in this group.
“Our study indicates that head injury is part of a complex ‘weave’ of health morbidities in prisoners, that needs to be considered holistically when providing support and developing interventions.”
The study is part of a programme of work on head injury and the criminal justice system that has developed educational tools for prisoners about head injury and e-learning modules for staff that are currently in production with NHS-Education Scotland.
The paper, ‘Associations between Significant Head Injury and Cognitive Function, Disability and Crime in Adult Males in Prison in Scotland UK: A Cross sectional study’ is published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. The work was part funded by the Scottish Government.
Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 19 March 2025