Trauma-Informed Care Groups With Incarcerated Women: An Alternative Treatment Design Comparing Seeking Safety and STAIR

Objective: Almost all incarcerated women have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. This study evaluates the utility of two trauma-informed care groups for incarcerated women-Seeking Safety and STAIR-by determining whether they improve coping self-efficacy, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: Using an alternative treatment design, we evaluated two cognitive behavioral-based trauma-informed care groups with incarcerated women. Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and coping self-efficacy were assessed with outcome measures at pretest and posttest. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that incarcerated women who participated in Seeking Safety or STAIR showed statistically significant improvements in anxiety (F[1,45]=27.27, p <.001, eta 2=.377), depression (F[1,45]=24.93, p <.001, eta 2=.356), PTSD (F[1,45]=27.34, p <.001, eta 2=.378), and coping self-efficacy (F[1,45]=14.93, p <.001, eta 2=.245). We found Seeking Safety to be more effective than STAIR in helping participants improve their coping self-efficacy. Conclusion: These trauma-informed programs improved incarcerated women's mental health problems and coping self-efficacy. Results indicate the importance of screening for trauma among incarcerated women and offering programming to address trauma and related issues before release.