Women Behind Bars: Health Needs of Inmates in a County Jail

Abstract

SYNOPSISObjectives. This study was performed to assess the prevalence of behavioral risk factors and correlates of poor self-reported health among incarcerated women in a county jail in Oregon.Methods. The authors collected self-reported data from recently incarcerated women at a county jail, focusing on prevalence of high-risk health behaviors, history of health care use, history of physical and sexual abuse, and health care coverage. The authors assessed factors associated with poor self-reported health using logistic regression techniques.Results. More than half of the participants reported a history of intravenous drug use, 67% reported a history of sexual abuse, 79% reported a history of physical abuse, and 43% stated that they had a history of trading sex for money or drugs. Two factors were associated with poor self-reported health: history of physical assault (odds ratio [OR] = 2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4, 5.2) and use of heroin during the month prior to arrest (OR = 2.9; 95% CI 1.3, 6.6).Conclusions. The high prevalence of health risk behaviors among the inmates suggests a number of areas for intervention. These findings may also be used to guide topics addressed during intake interviews of new inmates, and to help identify inmates that require additional medical or social services.

A pilot study of group interpersonal psychotherapy for depression in substance-abusing female prisoners

“…The high rate of depressive disorder among incarcerated women with substance use disorder is a concern because this population is particularly vulnerable to negative sequelae of depression, including elevated levels of suicide risk (Charles, Abram, McClelland, & Teplin, 2003), reduced likelihood or recovery from their substance use disorder (Galaif, Nyamathi, & Stein, 1999;Warner, Alegria, & Canino, 2004;Westermeyer, Kopka, & Nugent, 1997), and higher prison recidivism rates (Benda, 2005). Furthermore, depressive disorders interfere with incarcerated women's ability to cope with a large array of stressors after release, including homelessness, poverty, stigma, physical and sexual abuse, family problems, medical problems, and an average of more than five Axis I disorders (Fickenscher, Lapidus, Silk-Walker, & Becker, 2001;Hills, 2000). Finally, comorbid depressive disorders and substance use disorders interfere with women's ability to parent after release.…”

“…Incarcerated women with depressive disorder and substance use disorder face a number of interpersonal difficulties (Holden et al, 1993), including partner abuse, history of physical and/or sexual abuse (U.S. Department of Justice, 1999), loss, poor social support, parental neglect and rejection, marital and family conflict, sexual discrimination and harassment (SAMHSA, 1999), and attachment to exploitive, abusive, or otherwise criminogenic relationships with men (Holtfreter & Morash, 2003). Building healthy social support networks is critical for incarcerated women with depressive disorder and substance use disorder because their networks are often inadequate or actively criminogenic (Enos, 2001;Fickenscher et al, 2001), and family and friend support is an important factor in helping women make a successful transition to the community (Parsons & WarnerRobbins, 2002), complete necessary substance use disorder treatment (Dobkin, Civita, Paraherakis, & Gill, 2002;Sacks & Kressel, 2005;Simpson, 2005), maintain abstinence (Havassy, Hall, & Wasserman, 1991;Hser, Grella, Hsieh, Anglin, & Brown, 1999;McMahon, 2001), and avoid reincarceration (Benda, 2005). In fact, a meta-analysis of treatment studies with incarcerated women (Dowden & Andrews, 1999) found that interpersonal criminogenic treatment targets (family and peers, family process, and antisocial associates) yielded the strongest positive association with reduced reoffending and were more strongly associated with reduced recidivism for women as compared with emphases on antisocial cognition, skills deficits, school/work skills, and substance use disorder.…”

Partner Violence, Depression, and Recidivism: The Case of Incarcerated Women and Why We Need Programs Designed for Them

“…Data were gathered by prison officials at the time of the women's entrance into the prison. These results are significantly lower than results reported by researchers who used non-prison personnel to obtain the data from the women (Browne et al,1999;Eliason, Taylor, & Arndt, 2005;Fickenscher et al, 2001). These researchers found that when non-prison personnel collected data from female prisoners, results indicated that between 70 and 79.9% of incarcerated women experienced violence by an adult partner.…”

“…The same culture of violence that incarcerated women endured at the hands of their abusers, is often continued by the prison guards (Drake, 2007;Marron, 1996). This continuation of repeated physical abuse and chronic emotional stress has an enduring and profound effect on women's self-esteem and their feelings of hopelessness and depression (Fickenscher, Lapidus, Silk-Walker, & Becker, 2001;Zlotnick, Johnson, & Kohn, 2006). While recidivism for the general prison population has been associated with drug addictions, recidivism for women has an emotional component that is associated with depression (Benda, 2005, Loucks & Zamble, 1999Vigilante et al, 1999).…”

“…A woman's chemical dependency gives an abusive partner another avenue of power to hold over her (Frank & Rodowski, 1999). Fickenscher et al (2001) found that in a sample of 230 incarcerated women in a county jail, 79.4% had a history of using cocaine, 69.8% had a history of using crack, and 42.7% reported using heroin. The research also indicated that not enough was done in prison to deal with the underlying problem of chemical abuse.…”