Trauma experiences and mental health among incarcerated women.

Objective: Female offenders have different risk factors for offending than do male offenders, and elevated rates of interpersonal victimization such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and family and community violence, are common in histories of incarcerated women. We used factor analysis to examine patterns of traumatic events experienced by women in jail and explored how these patterns were associated with 4 psychiatric disorders (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], major depression, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorder) observed in this sample.

Method: A total of 464 women from 9 jails in 4 geographic regions in the United States comprised the sample.

Risk profile and treatment needs of women in jail with co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders.

Recent research has documented the unusually high rates of incarcerated women's serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD). Complicating these high rates is the high comorbidity of SMI with SUD and trauma histories. Yet, incarcerated women have significantly less access to treatment and health services while incarcerated than men.

The Significant Frequency and Impact of Stealth (Nonviolent) Gender-Based Abuse Among College Women.

The prevalence, incidence, and impact of the gender-based abuse (GBA) of college women have been increasingly documented since the 1980s, with growing precision in the measurements and expanding identification of tactics. Although there is an obvious class bias in focusing on college women (compared to women of similar ages not attending college), it is important to address GBA among this population as they are at serious risk of sexual abuse (particularly incapacitated rape), intimate partner abuse (IPA), and stalking. This article addresses the stealth nature of the nonviolent GBAs of college women and how these abuses frequently operate under the radar of acknowledgment by society, the abusers, campus officials, the criminal legal system, and sometimes, the survivors.

A multisite study of the prevalence of serious mental illness, PTSD, and substance use disorders of women in jail.

Objectives: This multisite study aimed to answer the following research questions about women in urban and rural jails. First, what is the current and lifetime prevalence of serious mental illness (major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and psychotic spectrum disorders) of women in jail? Second, what level of impairment is associated with their serious mental illness? Third, what is the proportion of incarcerated women with serious mental illness who also have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a substance use disorder, or both?

Methods: Participants were 491 women randomly sampled in jails in Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, and the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C.

The impact of victim-focused outreach on criminal legal system outcomes following police-reported intimate partner abuse.

Randomized control designs have been used in the public health and psychological literatures to examine the relationship between victim outreach following intimate partner abuse (IPA) and various outcomes. These studies have largely relied on samples drawn from health providers and shelters to examine outcomes outside the criminal legal system. Based on the positive findings from this body of research, we expected that a victim-focused, community-coordinated outreach intervention would improve criminal legal system outcomes.

The impact of community-based outreach on psychological distress and victim safety in women exposed to intimate partner abuse.

Objective: Using a longitudinal, randomized controlled trial, this study assessed the impact of a community-based outreach versus a more traditional criminal justice system-based referral program on women's distress and safety following police-reported intimate partner abuse (IPA).

Method: Women (N = 236 women) with police-reported IPA were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 interdisciplinary community-coordinated response program conditions: Outreach (community-based victim advocate outreach) or Referral (criminal justice system-based victim advocate referrals to community-based agencies). Participants were interviewed 3 times over a 1-year period: within 26 (median) days of police-reported IPA, 6 months later, and 12 months later.

The extensive sexual violation and sexual abuse histories of incarcerated women.

A growing body of research reports on the lifetime prevalence of sexual victimization experiences among incarcerated women. However, none of this research provides a detailed account of the many types and levels of sexual violations and sexual abuses, the age of occurrence, and the victim-offender relationship. This study used the Sexual Abuse Checklist (designed by the first author) and a modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES) to obtain a detailed account of 391 incarcerated women's self-reported sexual violation and abuse histories.