RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Civilian PTSD Symptoms and Risk for Involvement in the Criminal Justice System JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law SP 522 OP 529 VO 40 IS 4 A1 Sachiko Donley A1 Leah Habib A1 Tanja Jovanovic A1 Asante Kamkwalala A1 Mark Evces A1 Glenn Egan A1 Bekh Bradley A1 Kerry J. Ressler YR 2012 UL http://jaapl.org/content/40/4/522.abstract AB Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has received considerable attention with regard to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In studies of veterans, behavioral sequelae of PTSD can include hostile and violent behavior. Rates of PTSD found in impoverished, high-risk urban populations within U.S. inner cities are as high as in returning veterans. The objective of this study was to determine whether civilian PTSD is associated with increased risk of incarceration and charges related to violence in a low-income, urban population. Participants (n = 4,113) recruited from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, completed self-report measures assessing history of trauma, PTSD symptoms, and incarceration. Both trauma exposure and civilian PTSD remained strongly associated with increased risk of involvement in the criminal justice system and charges of a violent offense, even after adjustment for sex, age, race, education, employment, income, and substance abuse in a regression model. Trauma and PTSD have important implications for public safety and recidivism.