Victimization is common inside prisons and much remains unknown about the predictors of violence against incarcerated women. A sample of 564 incarcerated women was used to examine the link between in-prison victimization, childhood (physical, sexual, and emotional) harm, and mental illness. Nearly half or more of women reported childhood harm and over one-quarter experienced in-prison victimization. Childhood harm fell into four latent classes and low sexual abuse and high abuse classes predicted resident-on-resident sexual victimization, as did single types of childhood harm. Current depressive symptoms and perceptions of overcrowding predicted physical and sexual victimization perpetrated by residents and correctional staff.

Childhood adversity is predictive of poorer health and behavioral health outcomes in adulthood. Males and females are known to experience different types of childhood adversity, with females experiencing more sexual and emotional harm in childhood. Latent class analysis (LCA) has been used to identify patterns among types of childhood adversity. These studies have constructed class structures using single gender or blended gender samples. Class structures based on blended gender samples, however, may misrepresent the nuances of gender-specific adversity histories through averaging, potentially distorting the relative need for gender-specific types of intervention. This study investigated whether latent class structures of childhood abuse are equivalent for incarcerated males and females. Our sample included 4,204 residents (3,986 males, 218 females) drawn from a single prison system. Residents completed an hour-long audio computer-assisted self-interview that included questions on 10 types of childhood abuse, depression, and anxiety symptoms, the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and Criminal Sentiments Scale-Modified (CSS-M). Overall, female residents were both more likely to experience childhood abuse and have more extensive victimization experiences. Small subgroups of males, however, had even more extensive victimization experiences. Abuse patterns for males and females, while optimally clustering in four classes, are rather unique, especially for higher abuse classes, in terms of distribution of membership and types of abuse. These differences may matter in terms of identifying the relative need for therapeutic intervention among incarcerated males and females and targeting those interventions in ways that reflect the gradient and density of therapeutic need. The next step is to test whether using blended or gendered latent class structures matters in terms of predicting outcomes, such as prison-based behavioral health problems, suicidality, and victimization.

Interpersonal harm is a preventable public health problem. A growing body of literature shows persistently elevated exposure rates to physical and sexual victimization during incarceration. Yet how to prevent interpersonal harm during incarceration has proven far more elusive. A public health approach to prevention offers promise. To develop effective prevention strategies, the public health approach begins with defining and measuring the problem, followed by identifying risk and protective factors for the problem. The dynamic literature on in-prison interpersonal harm includes both parts of the public health approach but theoretical and methodological “noise” in this literature limits its instrumental utility to build effective prevention strategies. Herein, we critically review this evidence base (15 peer-reviewed articles published since 2000 with samples of 1,000+) to isolate the noise and the substance. We, then, minimize the methodological noise by testing for risk factors using self-report data that is representative of an entire U.S. state prison system for men and best data collection practices. Multilevel logistic regression is used to predict four types of interpersonal harm using theoretically grounded individual and prison-level covariates that are supported by the empirical literature. We conclude with recommendations for building an evidence base from which to develop prevention strategies that would create and sustain custodial conditions for people to be safe and healthy while incarcerated.