Incarceration Trajectories and Mental Health Problems Among Mothers Imprisoned in State and Federal Correctional Facilities: A Nationwide Study

Research on the role of incarceration history on the mental health of imprisoned mothers reveals contradictory findings. These inconsistencies are potentially attributable to the different incarceration histories across samples masked by the use of a dichotomized incarceration history measure. This study used incarceration trajectories over the life course to determine the nature and array of incarceration experiences detrimental to mental health. Using the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities dataset ( N = 881), we conducted logistic regressions to examine the associations between imprisoned mothers’ incarceration trajectories and mental health problems. Findings suggested that incarceration trajectories were significantly associated with a post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis and demonstrated a trend towards significance to be associated with anger symptoms and suicidal ideation. However, they were not significantly related to other mental health problems, such as depressive disorder and anxiety disorder. We concluded that mental health interventions need to be customized to the unique challenges encountered by subgroups of mothers with different incarceration experiences.