This article profiles self-reported substance use, health, and mental health problems among a sample of incarcerated women in Kentucky as well as lifetime service utilization. Findings indicate that a high percentage of women reported use of alcohol, cocaine, and multiple substances during the month before incarceration. In addition, participants reported common health problems such as dental, female reproductive, physical injuries, and mental health problems including depression and anxiety. Participants reported moderate use of emergency room and mental health treatment but limited substance abuse treatment utilization. Implications for criminal justice programs and linkages with community-based aftercare services for women are recommended based on findings that health and mental health problems are associated with service utilization before incarceration.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aday, L.A., & Anderson, R. (1974). A framework for the study of access to medical care. Health Services Research, 9, 208-220.
2.
Baskin, D.R., Sommers, I., Tessler, R., & Steadman, H.J. (1989). Role incongruence and gender variation in the provision of prison mental health services. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30, 305-314.
3.
Birecree, E.A., Bloom, J.D., Leverette, M.D., & Williams, M. (1994). Diagnostic efforts regarding women in Oregon’s prison system: A preliminary report. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 38, 217-230.
4.
Blanchard, C. (1999). Drugs, crime, prison, and treatment. Spectrum: The Journal of State Government, 72(1), 26-28.
5.
Bond, L., & Semaan, S. (1996). At risk for HIV infection: Incarcerated women in a county jail in Philadelphia. Women & Health, 24(4), 27-45.
6.
Booth, B.M., Staton, M., & Leukefeld, C. (2001). Substance use health services research. Substance Use and Misuse, 36, 673-686.
7.
Brooke, D., Taylor, C., Gunn, J., & Maden, A. (1998). Substance misusers remanded to prison—A treatment opportunity? Addiction, 93, 1851-1856.
8.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1994). Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Survey of state prison inmates, 1991, women in prison. Washington, DC: Author.
9.
Chitwood, D.D., McBride, D.C., French, M.T., & Comerford, M. (1999). Health care need and utilization: A preliminary comparison of injection drug users, other illicit drug users, and non-users. Substance Use and Misuse, 3, 727-746.
10.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
Coll, C.G., Surrey, J.L., Buccio-Notaro, P., & Molla, B. (1998). Incarcerated mothers: Crimes and punishment. In C.G. Coll, J.L. Surrey, & K. Weingarten (Eds.), Mothering against the odds: Diverse voices of contemporary mothers (pp. 255-274). New York: Guilford.
12.
Cotton-Oldenburg, N.U., Jordan, K., Martin, S.L., & Kupper, L. (1999). Women inmates’ risky sex and drug behaviors: Are they related? American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 25, 129-149.
13.
Cotton-Oldenburg, N.U., Martin, S.L., Jordan, B.K., Sadowski, S.L., & Kupper, L. (1997). Preincarceration risky behaviors among women inmates: Opportunities for prevention. Prison Journal, 77, 281-294.
14.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1991). Crime in the United States. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
15.
Fogel, C.I. (1993). Hard time: The stressful nature of incarceration for women. Mental Health Nursing, 14, 367-377.
16.
Greenfeld, L.A., & Snell, T.L. (1999). Women offenders (Bureau of Justice Special Report NCJ 175688). Washington, DC: Department of Justice.
17.
Grella, C.E., Polinsky, M.L., Hser, Y.I., & Perry, S.M. (1999). Characteristics of women-only and mixed-gender drug abuse treatment programs. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 17, 37-44.
18.
Henderson, D.J. (1998). Drug abuse and incarcerated women. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 15, 579-587.
19.
Ingram-Fogel, C. (1991). Health problems and needs of incarcerated women. Journal of Prison & Jail Health, 10, 43-57.
20.
Jordan, B.K., Schlenger, W.E., Fairbank, J.A., & Caddell, J.M. (1996). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among incarcerated women. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 513-519.
21.
Keaveny, M.E., & Zauszniewski, J.A. (1999). Life events and psychological well-being in women sentenced to prison. Mental Health Nursing, 20, 73-89.
22.
Kentucky Department of Corrections. (1999). Profile of inmate population. Frankfort, KY: Information and Technology Branch.
23.
Liebling, A. (1994). Suicide amongst women prisoners. The Howard Journal, 33(1), 1-9.
24.
Marquart, J.W., Brewer, V.E., Mullings, J., & Crouch, B.N. (1999). The implications of crime control policy on HIV/AIDS-related risk among women prisoners. Crime and Delinquency, 45, 82-96.
25.
Martin, S.L., Cotton, N.U., Browne, D.C., Kurz, B., & Robertson, E. (1995). Family violence and depressive symptomatology among incarcerated women. Journal of Family Violence, 10, 399-411.
26.
McCorkel, J.A., Butzin, C.A., Martin, S., & Inciardi, J.A. (1998). Use of health services in a sample of drug-involved offenders: A comparison with national norms. American Behavioral Scientist, 41, 1079-1090.
27.
McLellan, A., Luborsky, L., O’Brien, C., & Woody, G. (1980). An improved diagnostic instrument for substance abuse patients: The Addiction Severity Index. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, 168, 26-33.
28.
Morash, M., Haarr, R.N., & Rucker, L. (1994). A comparison of programming for women and men in U.S. prisons in the 1980s. Crime and Delinquency, 40, 197-221.
29.
Mumola, C.J. (1999). Substance abuse and treatment, state and federal prisoners (Bureau of Justice Statistics: Special Report NCJ 172871). Washington, DC: Department of Justice.
30.
National Institute of Corrections. (1998). Current issues in the operation of women’s prisons (Special Issues in Corrections Contract No. J1C0-110). Longmont CO: National Institute of Corrections Information Center.
31.
Peters, R.H. (1993). Drug treatment in jails and detention settings. In J.A. Inciardi (Ed.), Drug treatment and criminal justice (pp. 44-80). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Ross, P.H., & Lawrence, J.E. (1998). Health care for women offenders. Corrections Today, 60(7), 122-127.
34.
Sheridan, M.J. (1996). Comparison of the life experiences and personal functioning of men and women in prison. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 77, 423-434.
35.
Singer, M.I., Bussey, J., Song, L.Y., & Lunghofer, L. (1995). The psychosocial issues of women serving time in jail. Social Work, 40, 103-113.
36.
Staton, M., Leukefeld, C., & Logan, T.K. (2001). Health services utilization and victimization among incarcerated female substance abusers. Substance Use and Misuse, 36, 701-716.
37.
Staton, M., Leukefeld, C., & Logan, T.K. (2002). Clinical issues in treating substance abusing women. In C. Leukefeld, F. Tims, & D. Farabee (Eds.), Treatment of drug offenders: Policies and issues (pp. 217-225). New York: Springer.
38.
Staton, M., Leukefeld, C., Logan, T.K., & Purvis, R. (2000). Process evaluation for a prison-based substance abuse program. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 32, 105-127.
39.
Steiger, J.H. (1980). Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 87, 245-251.
40.
Teplin, L.A., Abram, K.M., & McClelland, G.M. (1997). Mental disorders women in jail: Who receives services? American Journal of Public Health, 87, 604-609.
41.
Webster, J.M., Leukefeld, C.G., Staton, M., Hiller, M.L., Garrity, T., & Narevic, E. (2002). Predictors of lifetime service utilization among incarcerated male substance abusers. Manuscript submitted for publication.
42.
Young, D.S. (1998). Health status and service use among incarcerated women. Family Community Health, 21(3), 16-31.
43.
Zlotnick, C. (1997). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), PTSD comorbidity, and childhood abuse among incarcerated women. Journal of Nervous and Mental Health Disease, 185, 761-763.
