Over the past four decades, the rate of incarcerated for US women has increased more than 700%. Although the rate of
incarceration for US men has also increased dramatically, incarcerated women differ from their male counterparts in several key ways.
Incarcerated women are more likely than incarcerated men to have less than a high school diploma (or equivalent), to be under- or
unemployed, to have experienced homelessness, to be living in poverty at the time of their arrest, to have custody of minor children, and
to come to prison with untreated physical and mental health issues (Bloom et al., 2004; DeHart, 2008). The largest disparities are
reported on measures of drug use and drug crimes and experiences of interpersonal victimization (Belknap, 2007). The Gendered Pathways
Perspective (GPP) identifies victimization as an important pathway to criminal behavior for women and girls, as approximately half of
incarcerated women report being first arrested as juveniles, many of whom were running away to escape abuse. Incarcerated women and girls
also indicate that they use drugs and alcohol, in some measure, to cope with their experience of violence (DeHart, 2009; Fuentes, 2014;
Messina & Grella, 2006). Incarcerated women report much higher rates of victimization than women in the community, with estimates
suggesting that more than two-thirds of incarcerated women have experienced either physical or sexual abuse in childhood (e.g., Kennedy,
Tripodi, et al., 2015). However, there is evidence that experiences of victimization are rarely mutually exclusive, but rather that
victimization tends to cluster for some individuals and in some environments (Finkelhor et al., 2007b). Although robust relationships
between childhood polyvictimization (defined as multiple, cumulative forms of direct and indirect interpersonal violence) and a variety of
criminal offending, re-victimization, mental health, and substance misuse outcomes are reported using samples of youth (e.g., Cyr et al.,
2012; Ford et al., 2010), our understanding of how polyvictimization relates to these outcomes for incarcerated adult women is less clear.
The current project examined polyvictimization and five interpersonal and behavioral health outcomes among a probability sample of 39
incarcerated women held in a state prison in Florida. The outcomes of interest were intimate partner violence victimization (IPVV),
current incidence of dissociation, psychosis, and posttraumatic stress, and substance misuse in the year prior to incarceration. These
outcomes were chosen because they are associated with women's crime, increase the risk for suicide attempts and interpersonal conflict
during custody, and have been linked to recidivism after release (DeHart, 2008, 2009; Dowden & Brown, 2002; Lord, 2008; Salisbury
& Van Voorhis, 2009; Wright et al., 2007; Zust, 2009). A cross-sectional survey design was used and all data was gathered via
self-report during face-to-face interviews. For women in the sample, an increase in the number of cumulative victimization domains
experienced in childhood was statistically significantly associated with increased dissociation and meeting criteria for a substance use
disorder in the year prior to incarceration. Further, sexual assault statistically significantly moderated the relationship between
polyvictimization and both dissociation and substance misuse for women in the sample. A positive effect was noted when looking at IPVV,
psychosis, and posttraumatic stress, although the relationships in the current sample were statistically non-significant. Although the
data did not permit precise estimates of the effect, the confidence intervals suggested moderate to strong effects that indicated concern
about the relationship between polyvictimization and subsequent challenges. Understanding experiences of polyvictimization for
incarcerated women, and how polyvictimization relates to subsequent IPVV, dissociation, psychosis, posttraumatic stress, and substance
misuse, is of particular importance to the social work profession, as social workers provide the majority of behavioral health services in
the US (Proctor, 2004). Social work is well positioned to lead community-based prevention efforts which address how experiences of
violence and victimization can influence a woman's sense of herself in relationships and can serve to alienate her from family, school,
and employment. If drugs and alcohol are used to cope with experiences of violence, social work prevention and intervention can highlight
how substance misuse perpetuates experiences of victimization for at-risk women and girls, increasing risk for arrest and incarceration.
Further, over the past decade, comprehensive mental health services have become increasingly available in women's prisons across the
country (e.g., Daroowalla et al., 2005; Teplin et al., 1997; Wright et al., 2007). Social work professionals are well equipped to take a
leadership role in therapeutic service delivery. More research is needed to examine polyvictimization among incarcerated adult women and
evaluate the predictive utility of polyvictimization on negative outcomes among this population. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 11, 2016. / Childhood victimization, Incarcerated women, Intimate partner violence, Polyvictimization, Serious mental
health, Substance misuse / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephen J. Tripodi, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric Stewart, University Representative;
Tomi Gomory, Committee Member; Lisa Schelbe, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_360387 |
| Contributors | Kennedy, Stephanie Cameron (authoraut), Tripodi, Stephen J. (professor directing dissertation), Gomory, Tomi (committee member), Schelbe, Lisa A. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Social Work (degree granting college), College of Social Work (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (192 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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