Conditions of Confinement and Incarcerated Women’s Mental Health

Bibliographic Data

ID12809702
AuthorsTimothy G Edgemon (0000-0003-0885-1136, Auburn University, corresponding author), J Clay-Warner (0000-0001-5585-524X, University of Georgia)
Year2023
Volume18
Issue3
Pages250-273
Publication date2023-05-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Criminology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1557-0851 • E-ISSN: 1557-086X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/15570851231178935
OpenAlexW4378231801
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited61

Research on incarceration and mental health from a deprivation perspective has focused primarily on incarcerated men, rendering the links between prison deprivations and women’s mental health largely unknown. Previous research indicates, however, that women experience prison differently than do men, making it important to examine how prison conditions impact women’s mental health. Here, we use national data on 1490 women incarcerated in the United States and the 60 state prisons in which they reside to examine the links between prison conditions and symptoms of mental health conditions, net of individual-level factors. Hierarchal negative binomial regression models indicate that the punitiveness of the prison environment, the recent occurrence of a suicide in the prison, and fewer prison programs are all associated with symptom count. These results have important implications for understanding the mechanisms through which prison deprivations are linked to women’s mental health

Criminology · Environmental health · Mental health · Perspective (graphical · Poison control · Prison · Psychiatry · Solitary confinement · Suicide prevention · Clinical Psychology · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Medicine · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending