Lynch, Shannon M.; DeHart, Dana D.; Belknap, Joanne.; Green, Bonnie L. – 2013
This brief presents findings from a study that explored the prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse disorders (SUD) in women in jail and the pathways to jail for women with and without SMI. Data from 491 women in rural and urban jails was used and interviews were conducted with a subset of 115 to explore women’s pathways to jail to examine how onset of different types of criminal activity and delinquency vary as a function of mental health status and trauma exposure. Finally, corrections staff members (n=37) were interviewed to assess the staff members’ beliefs about the prevalence of mental health difficulties in women in jail as well as their perceptions about women’s pathways to jail. Findings indicate: trauma and mental health issues were associated with the onset of crime; a majority of women in jail had at least one of the assessed mental health disorders in their lifetime; one in four women met criteria for lifetime serious mental illness (SMI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders (SUD); many women met criteria for SMI, PTSD, and/or SUD in the past 12 months, and 25% reported severe functional impairment in the past year; half of the women received treatment for substance use or mental health issues prior to incarceration; most of the women in jail experienced multiple types of adversity and interpersonal violence in their lives; and women with SMI were more likely to have experienced trauma, to be repeat offenders, and to have earlier onset of substance use and running away.