Outcomes of child sexual contacts: patterns of incarcerations from a national sample

Characteristics Associated with a History of Physical and Sexual Abuse in a Community Corrections Sample

Background: Most predictors of future criminal justice involvement are gender neutral. However, recent research has stressed the importance of physical and sexual abuse as a precursor of incarceration for women. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of a history of physical and sexual abuse on mental health, substance use, and criminal justice history for men and women under community corrections supervision. Methods: A sample of 613 (203 women and 410 men) participants completed structured clinical interviews and questionnaires assessing demographics, mental health and abuse history (physical vs. sexual), substance use, and criminal justice involvement. Results: Results of multivariate analyses indicated that for men, physical abuse was linked to White race, a higher number of arrests, history of a person offense, family problems, and suicidality; while sexual abuse was linked to White race, family problems, suicidality, and antisocial personality disorder. For women, physical abuse was only associated with meeting criteria for an anxiety or depressive disorder; while sexual abuse was linked to reporting a history of a substance offense, meeting criteria for an anxiety or depressive disorder, and increased suicidality. Substance use was not associated with any form of abuse in either gender. Conclusions: In general, abuse was associated with worse mental health and more severe criminal justice involvement. Women reported much greater rates of abuse and our results provide some support for the idea that a history of abuse may be an important precursor to criminal justice involvement for individuals under community corrections supervision.

Associations between past trauma, current social support, and loneliness in incarcerated populations

Background

Prisoners are a vulnerable population with higher rates of trauma than community populations. Social support is important for both in–prison adjustment and post-release community re-entry. Loneliness, a related construct to social support, has been found to be associated with elevated rates of suicidal ideation and behavior, depression, and hopelessness in incarcerated populations.

Methods

This study explored the relationship of past physical, sexual, and crime-related trauma to current perceived social support and loneliness in a mixed-gender sample of 235 depressed prisoners enrolled in depression treatment studies.

Results

History of any trauma, regardless of type, as well as physical, sexual, and crime-related traumas were associated with lower current perceived social support scores (controlling for gender). Past sexual trauma and crime-related trauma were associated with higher levels of loneliness (controlling for gender), though history of any trauma and physical trauma was not.

Conclusion

Findings suggest that both overall trauma and specific types of trauma are linked to perceived social support and loneliness among incarcerated persons with major depressive disorder. This is the first study, to the authors’ knowledge, that specifically observed a relationship between past trauma and current social support and loneliness in prison populations. Many intervention programs for prisoners encourage them to develop non-criminogenic and substance-free social networks. These programs should be aware that individuals who have experienced interpersonal trauma may have additional interpersonal challenges, and may need strategies to address interpersonal deficits related to trauma exposure.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2194-7899-2-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Substance use coping as a mediator of the relationship between trauma symptoms and substance use consequences among incarcerated females with childhood sexual abuse histories

Rates of substance use and maltreatment are alarmingly high among incarcerated women. Although the direct link between trauma and substance use has been established, less is known about potential mediators. Thus, we examined substance use coping as a mediator between trauma symptoms and substance use consequences among a sample of incarcerated females (N = 111) who were survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Trauma symptoms predicted the severity of substance use consequences, with this relationship being mediated fully by avoidance coping (e.g., using substances to cope). Overall, trauma histories are important in predicting outcomes but must be examined in the context of current coping behaviors and substance use. Findings (data collected in 2007/2008) may help promote interventions that target patterns of coping and/or emotional avoidance among trauma survivors with substance use problems in incarcerated populations. The study's limitations are noted.

The mediating role of self-regulation between intrafamilial violence and mental health adjustment in incarcerated male adolescents

This article investigates the relation between history of intrafamilial violence and self-regulatory capacity, cognitive processing, and mental health adjustment in incarcerated adolescents. Adolescents were incarcerated at the time of the study for various violent offenses, ranging from persistent delinquency to sexual assault (n = 115). A model is proposed that posits that self-regulation, cognitive ability, and cognitive processing are integral to the relation between intrafamilial violence and mental health function. The primary hypothesis of the study tests this mediation model. The relations between mental health, cognitive processing, self-regulation, and intrafamilial violence are also examined. The study was conducted during two sessions at a juvenile facility in the Midwest using survey measures, academic and intelligence testing, and cognitive tasks. Youth were between the ages of 13 and 20. Approximately 70% were previously diagnosed with a disability. Significant Pearson's correlations were found between seven out of eight mental health subscales of the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and intrafamilial violence history. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the role of cognitive processing in the association between intrafamilial violence and mental health function. Nonverbal or performance deficits, a significant difference between verbal skills and nonverbal skills, were related to intrafamilial violence. Self-regulation partially mediated the relation between intrafamilial violence and mental health function. Self-regulation ability may be compromised by intrafamilial violence and be a precursor to both internalizing and externalizing mental health problem in incarcerated youth. Educational, clinical, and research implications are discussed.

The relation of violence exposure and ethnicity to intelligence and verbal-performance discrepancies in incarcerated male adolescents

Incarcerated populations have an estimated incidence of intellectual disabilities (IDs) far higher than national norms, ranging as high as 10%. In the present study, the relation between ID and violence exposure in 115 incarcerated adolescents was examined. Interpersonal violence exposure (IPV-E) predicted an average decrease in full scale IQ of 4.5 points, explaining approximately 5% of the difference in IQ. Child maltreatment increased the odds of having a verbal disability by three folds and explained 17% of the variance in verbal disability. Hierarchical regression was used to examine the relative contribution of ethnicity, poverty, and violence exposure to intellectual functioning. The literature on racial bias in incarceration and the implications for the present study are discussed.

Childhood trauma and risk for past and future suicide attempts among women in prison

PURPOSE

We sought to determine whether childhood trauma is an independent risk factor for past suicide attempts and the future likelihood of attempts among women in prison.

METHODS

A random sample of 247 women incarcerated in a state prison in Las Vegas, Nevada, completed a confidential interview that included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the 18-item Brief Symptom Inventory, standard measures of illicit drug use, and the revised Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the independent influence of cumulative childhood trauma on past suicide attempts with intent to die and the future likelihood of suicide attempts.

RESULTS

Childhood trauma was frequently reported by female prisoners: emotional abuse (58%), physical abuse (54%), sexual abuse (51%), emotional neglect (53%), and physical neglect (41%). Factors independently associated with past suicide attempts included having a higher childhood trauma score (p < .001), a higher psychological distress score (p=.005), and longer duration of current incarceration (> or =5 years; p=.003). Childhood trauma (p=.05), psychological distress (p < .001), and lack of legal employment before incarceration (p=.05) were independent risk factors for future likelihood of attempting suicide.

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood trauma is an independent risk factor for attempted suicide among women in prison that persists into adulthood and cannot fully be attributed to psychological distress, illicit drug use, or incarceration duration. Addressing the emotional impact of childhood trauma among female prisoners may increase the effectiveness of correctional suicide prevention efforts.

Prevalence and patterns of sexual assault across the life span among incarcerated women

This study investigated the prevalence of and associations among sexual assault by life stage (childhood, adolescence, or adulthood) and perpetrator (family, stranger, friend, or partner) via a survey of a statewide sample of incarcerated women (N = 484). Participants were 18 to 56 years old, and the majority were White (56%). Results demonstrate higher rates of sexual assault in childhood (35%) and adulthood (22%) as compared with adolescence (14%). Logistic regression analyses revealed significant associations between childhood sexual assault by family and adulthood sexual assault by friend, stranger, and partner; adolescent sexual assault was not significantly associated with sexual assault in childhood or adulthood. These findings suggest that the lifetime sexual victimization pattern of incarcerated women differs from that seen in the general population.

Measuring child sexual abuse in children and youth

Asking children and adolescents directly about their experience of sexual victimization overcomes some of the methodological weaknesses inherent in other approaches. Yet complex legal, ethical, and methodological issues remain. This paper reviews the psychometric properties of those questions or instruments that have measured exposure to child sexual abuse directly. A search of four electronic databases using descriptors "child sexual abuse" and "measurement" or "instrumentation" yielded four telephone administered tools, 13 face-to-face interviews, and 32 self-administered questionnaires. Few instruments had been subjected to rigorous evaluation. Establishing the validity and reliability of instruments measuring child sexual abuse and other forms of victimization are critical for the growth and expansion of the field.