Publications by authors named "Mollee Steely Smith"

Women who are incarcerated give birth in community hospitals, but under conditions that differ dramatically from women who present from community settings. However, systematic examinations of the full breadth of possible restrictions imposed upon incarcerated women hospitalized for childbirth and recovery are lacking, limiting knowledge on how carceral status affects hospital practices for this population. To bridge this gap, we identified the electronic medical records of 180 women who gave birth in a community-based hospital while in custody of a state prison between June 2014 and July 2022 and extracted textual data related to care restrictions imposed during hospitalization for childbirth and recovery.

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Exposure therapies effectively treat traumatic stress sequelae, including that which follows sexual violence victimization (SVV). Carceral facilities house women with significantly higher rates of SVV than community samples, yet they rarely implement this form of treatment. In this study, women with histories of SVV ( = 63) completed semistructured qualitative interviews about their decision to enroll or not enroll in an exposure-based group therapy called Survivors Healing from Abuse: Recovery through Exposure while incarcerated.

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Background: The extraordinary growth in women's incarceration over the past several decades has resulted in calls for expansion of research into their unique needs and experiences, including those related to pregnancy and perinatal care. However, while research into the health outcomes of women who are incarcerated while pregnant has grown, research on women's custodial and perinatal care patterns has remained nearly non-existent. Here, we sought to describe (1) the characteristics of the population of women who came to be incarcerated in a state prison system during pregnancy and (2) the characteristics of women's custodial and perinatal care patterns during and after incarceration.

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Individuals who sexually offend often engage in manipulative and coercive behavior to begin, conceal, and continue the sexual abuse of children over time, referred to as grooming behavior. The large majority of research regarding grooming behavior derives exclusively from male sex offending samples, which is problematic because male and female sex offenders vary widely in their offending patterns, motivations, and behaviors. For the present study, we examined the nature of sexual grooming and processes exhibited by a sample of 50 women convicted of sexual offenses against a child.

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Background: Prisons face challenges in meeting the unique health care needs of women, especially those who are pregnant. This retrospective chart review sought to describe the maternal and infant health outcomes of incarcerated women who received prenatal care while in an Arkansas prison.

Methods: Using a hospital-based electronic medical records (EMR) system, we examined the maternal health history and current pregnancy characteristics of 219 pregnant women who received prenatal care while incarcerated from June 2014 to May 2019.

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Background: Incarcerated perinatal populations report high rates of substance use in the United States (US). Despite this, substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is not routinely available in carceral settings and state policies related to the provision of substance use screening and treatment are unknown.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search in WestLaw through the end of the 2020 legislative session combining the terms "pregnant" and "postpartum" with terms for incarceration and related terms.

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Article Synopsis
  • Incarcerated women experience high levels of sexual victimization, prompting a study with 63 survivors to understand their views on trauma-focused therapy.
  • Nearly all participants (97%) supported the availability of trauma-focused therapy within prisons, with 65% believing prisons are suitable settings for such treatment.
  • Despite most women showing trauma symptoms, few sought trauma-focused therapy after their release, highlighting a critical need for accessible therapy options both in prison and postrelease.
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Pregnancy is a critical time to provide access to substance use treatment; this is especially true among incarcerated populations, who are known to be at particularly high risk of poor health outcomes. In this integrated literature review, we (1) report what is known about the prevalence of substance use among incarcerated pregnant and postpartum populations; (2) describe substance use treatment programs and current care practices of pregnant and postpartum populations in carceral settings; and (3) explore recommendations and strategies for increasing access to substance use treatment for incarcerated pregnant and postpartum populations. A comprehensive search of seven electronic databases yielded in the retrieval of 139 articles that were assessed for inclusion.

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Persons convicted of sexual offenses (PCSOs) hold distorted attitudes and beliefs, or rationalizations that minimize the severity of their offending. Despite this, knowledge of rationalizations held by PCSOs remains limited, especially for offenders who report being sexually abused as children. The purpose of the study was to qualitatively assess post-conviction rationalizations of PCSOs who reported childhood sexual abuse ( = 40) and those who reported no sexual abuse ( = 40) focusing on account variations-a framework proposed by Scott & Lyman.

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