This study characterized arrest, incarceration, and risk factors for incident incarceration among transgender women (TW) in the northeastern and southern United States. During semiannual study visits over 24 months in a multicenter cohort study, TW completed HIV testing and self-administered surveys. In total, 1571 TW completed baseline survey; 1,312 HIV-negative TW enrolled in the cohort and contributed 2134.3 person-years to the analysis. At baseline, 37% had been arrested and 21% had been incarcerated. Incident incarceration was 23.4 per 1,000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 16.9–29.9). Sex work was significantly associated with baseline and incident incarceration (p < .01). A history of incarceration at enrollment was the strongest predictor of incident incarceration (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 6.99; 95% CI: 3.43–14.24). Living in the South (aOR 2.69, 95% CI: 1.22–5.93), income below the federal poverty level (aOR 2.65 95% CI: 3.43–14.24), and having a recent partner who had been incarcerated (aOR 2.62, 95% CI: 1.20–5.69) also increased the odds of incident incarceration in multivariable modeling. Structural interventions to reduce poverty and decriminalize sex work have the potential to reduce incarceration rates among TW.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AustinJ., CadoraE., ClearT. R., DanskyK., GreeneJ., GuptaV., MauerM., PorterN., TuckerS., & YoungM. C. (2013). Ending mass incarceration: Charting a new justice reinvestment. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project.
2.
BrewerR., RamaniS. L., KhannaA., FujimotoK., SchneiderJ. A., HottonA., WiltonL., EscobedoT., & HarawaN. T. (2021). A systematic review up to 2018 of HIV and associated factors among criminal justice-involved (CJI) black sexual and gender minority populations in the United States (US). Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 9(4), 1357–1402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-021-01076-7
3.
BrownG. R., & JonesK. T. (2015). Health correlates of criminal justice involvement in 4,793 transgender veterans. LGBT Health, 2(4), 297–305. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2015.0052
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Adverse childhood experiences reported by adults—Five states, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 59(49), 1609–1613.
6.
DeVylderJ. E., OhH. Y., NamB., SharpeT. L., LehmannM., & LinkB. G. (2017). Prevalence, demographic variation and psychological correlates of exposure to police victimisation in four US cities. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 26(5), 466–477. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2045796016000810
7.
DohertyE. E., GreenK. M., & EnsmingerM. E. (2021). Long-term consequences of criminal justice system intervention: The impact of young adult arrest on midlife health behaviors. Prevention Science, 23(2), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01236-5
FontanarosaJ., UhlS., OyesanmiO., & SchoellesK. M. (2013). Interventions for Adult Offenders With Serious Mental Illness. In AHRQ comparative effectiveness reviews. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US), Rockville (MD). PMID: 24049841. https://europepmc.org/article/nbk/nbk158915.
10.
Garcia-MorenoC., JansenH. A., EllsbergM., HeiseL., & WattsC. H. (2006). Prevalence of intimate partner violence: Findings from the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence. Lancet, 368(9543), 1260–1269. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(06)69523-8
11.
GreenK. M., DohertyE. E., SifatM. S., & EnsmingerM. E. (2019). Explaining continuity in substance use: The role of criminal justice system involvement over the life course of an urban African American prospective cohort. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 195,74–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.09.033
12.
JamesS. E., HermanJ. L., RankinS., KeislingM., MottetL., & AnafiM. (2016). The report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. National Center for Transgender Equality. https://www.ustranssurvey.org/
JunH. J., DeVylderJ. E., & FedinaL. (2020). Police violence among adults diagnosed with mental disorders. Health & Social Work, 45(2), 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlaa003
15.
KesslerR. C., AndrewsG., ColpeL. J., HiripiE., MroczekD. K., NormandS. L. T., WaltersE. E., & ZaslavskyA. M. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32(6), 959–976. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291702006074
16.
KriegerN., Van WyeG., HuynhM., WatermanP. D., MaduroG., LiW., GwynnR. C., BarbotO., & BassettM. T. (2020). Structural racism, historical redlining, and risk of preterm birth in New York City, 2013–2017. American Journal of Public Health, 110(7), 1046–1053. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305656
17.
LintonS. L., KennedyC. E., LatkinC. A., CelentanoD. D., KirkG. D., & MehtaS. H. (2013). “Everything that looks good ain't good!”: Perspectives on urban redevelopment among persons with a history of injection drug use in Baltimore, Maryland. International Journal of Drug Policy, 24(6), 605–613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.03.015
18.
ListwanS. J., CullenF. T., & LatessaE. J. (2006). How to prevent prisoner re-entry programs from failing: Insights from evidence-based corrections. Federal Probation, 70(3),19–25. https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/70_3_3_0.pdf. Accessed August3, 2022.
19.
MintonT. D., BeattyL. G., & ZengZ. (2021). Correctional populations in the United States, 2019—Statistical tables. U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved October 18, 2021, from https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/cpus19st.pdf
20.
NowotnyK. M., Kuptsevych-TimmerA., & OserC. (2019). Criminal justice contact and health service utilization among women across health care settings: Analyzing the role of arrest. Women's Health Issues, 29(2), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2018.12.005
21.
PantaloneD. W., ScanlonM. L., BrownS. M., RadhakrishnanB., & SpragueC. (2018). Unmet mental health and social service needs of formerly incarcerated women living with HIV in the Deep South. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 29(5), 712–727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jana.2018.04.003
22.
PoteatT., WhiteR. H., FooterK. H. A., ParkJ. N., GalaiN., HuettnerS., SilberzahnB. E., AllenS. T., GlickJ., BeckhamS. W., GaydosC. A., & ShermanS. G. (2020). Characterising HIV and STIs among transgender female sex workers: A longitudinal analysis. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 97(3), 226–231. https://doi.org/10.1136/sextrans-2019-054414
23.
PrinsA., BovinM. J., SmolenskiD. J., MarxB. P., KimerlingR., Jenkins-GuarnieriM. A., KaloupekD. G., SchnurrP. P., KaiserA. P., LeyvaY. E., & TietQ. Q. (2016). The Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5): Development and evaluation within a veteran primary care sample. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 31(10), 1206–1211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-016-3703-5
24.
RobertsonA. A., & WalkerC. S. (2018). Predictors of justice system involvement: Maltreatment and education. Child Abuse and Neglect, 76, 408–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.12.002
25.
RussellJ. S., HicksonD. A., TimminsL., & DuncanD. T. (2021). Higher rates of low socioeconomic status, marginalization, and stress in black transgender women compared to black cisgender MSM in the MARI Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 2183. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042183
26.
SaundersJ. B., AaslandO. G., BaborT. F., de la FuenteJ. R., & GrantM. (1993). Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO Collaborative Project on Early Detection of Persons with Harmful Alcohol Consumption—II. Addiction, 88(6), 791–804. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.1993.tb02093.x
TartaroC., Bonnan-WhiteJ., MastrangeloM. A., & MulvihillR. (2021). Police officers' attitudes toward mental health and crisis intervention: Understanding preparedness to respond to community members in crisis. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 36(3), 579–591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-021-09459-6
31.
TonryM. (2014). Remodeling American sentencing: A ten-step blueprint for moving past mass incarceration. Criminology & Public Policy, 13(4), 503–533.
32.
U.S. Department ofJustice, Bureau of JusticeStatistics. (2019). National Prison Statistics Prison Population Report. Retrieved October 28, 2021 from https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/nps1bt_19.pdf
White HughtoJ. M., ReisnerS. L., KershawT. S., AlticeF. L., BielloK. B., MimiagaM. J., GarofaloR., KuhnsL. M., & PachankisJ. E. (2019). A multisite, longitudinal study of risk factors for incarceration and impact on mental health and substance use among young transgender women in the USA. Journal of Public Health, 41(1), 100–109. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdy031
WildemanC., LeeH., & ComfortM. (2013). A new vulnerable population? The health of female partners of men recently released from prison. Women's Health Issues, 23(6), e335–e340. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2013.07.006
37.
WildemanC., & WangE. A. (2017). Mass incarceration, public health, and widening inequality in the USA. Lancet, 389(10077), 1464–1474. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30259-3
38.
WirtzA., PoteatT., RadixA., AlthoffK., CannonC., WawrzyniakA., CooneyE., MayerK., & ReisnerS. (2019). American cohort to study HIV acquisition among transgender women in high risk areas: A protocol for technology-enhanced methods to study HIV acquisition risks in Eastern And Southern United States. JMIR Preprints, 14/05/2019:14704. https://doi.org/10.2196/preprints.14704
39.
WirtzA. L., CooneyE. E., StevensonM., RadixA., PoteatT., WawrzyniakA. J., CannonC. M., SchneiderJ. S., HawJ. S., CaseJ., AlthoffK. N., HumesE., MayerK. H., BeyrerC., RodriguezA. E., & ReisnerS. L. (2021). Digital epidemiologic research on multilevel risks for HIV acquisition and other health outcomes among transgender women in Eastern and Southern United States: Protocol for an online cohort. JMIR Research Protocols, 10(4), e29152. https://doi.org/10.2196/29152
40.
WirtzA. L., YehP. T., FlathN. L., BeyrerC., & DolanK. (2018). HIV and viral hepatitis among imprisoned key populations. Epidemiologic Reviews, 40(1), 12–26. https://doi.org/10.1093/epirev/mxy003
41.
YudkoE., LozhkinaO., & FoutsA. (2007). A comprehensive review of the psychometric properties of the Drug Abuse Screening Test. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 32(2), 189–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2006.08.002
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
