Sexual Abuse and Mental Health Outcomes in Women Incarcerated in State Prisons

Background and purpose. In 2015, there were 105,000 women incarcerated in federal and state prisons, 4% of the U.S. inmate population (Carson & Anderson, 2016). Female inmates face unique challenges to rehabilitation and report higher rates of child abuse, rape, and intimate partner violence than incarcerated men (Bloom et al., 2003; Carson & Anderson, 2016; James & Glaze, 2006). In particular, women of color are incarcerated at a disproportionate rate compared to their White counterparts. This study examines the effects of sexual abuse on symptoms of mental illness in White, African American, and Hispanic female state prison inmates and furthers the body of research on the necessity of trauma-informed, gender-specific treatment.

Method. Data are from the Surveys of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (SISCF), 2004. Surveys of 14,499 inmates from 287 state prisons were conducted by the United States Department of Justice in order to provide nationally representative data on the incarcerated population in state-operated prisons (US Department of Justice, 2004, p. 3). A total of 2,930 incarcerated women from 62 state prisons participated in the survey and were selected for this study’s sample. Surveys were conducted through computer-administered self-report. The study was a cross-sectional survey design that obtained information such as personal characteristics, criminal history, family background, and mental illness. Sexual abuse was measured with two survey questions about sexual abuse occurrence and frequency of abuse. Based on their response to these questions, participants were divided into three groups: Participants with no history of sexual abuse, participants with one instance of sexual abuse, and participants with multiple instances of sexual abuse.

            Mental illness was assessed by 23 questions regarding the presence of symptoms of mental illness in a yes/no format. Symptom questions were grouped into anger (4 items, α=.899), anxiety/depression (11 items, α=.946), and psychotic (6 items, α=.936) categories. Participants were also asked one yes/no question regarding previous attempted suicide. A series of Analysis of Variance and chi-square analyses were performed.  

Results. Sexual abuse was found to be significantly related to higher mean scores of mental illness across all ethnicities. Inmates with one or more instances of sexual abuse had significantly higher mean scores of mental illness than those with no history of mental illness. However, frequency of abuse was found to have an insignificant relationship to higher scores of mental illness. Participants who reported multiple instances of abuse did not have significantly higher scores of mental illness than those who reported one instance of abuse. The exception to this was anxiety/depression scores in African Americans. Attempted suicide was found to be significantly related to frequency of sexual abuse.

Implications. The results of this study indicate the need for correctional environments that recognize inmates’ prior trauma histories and the interaction between trauma, mental health, and recovery. Correctional policy and programming should incorporate trauma-informed practices that recognize female inmates’ victimization experiences, minimize retraumatization, and provide optimal rehabilitation through women-centered services.