Ann Booker Loper

The Relationship of Parenting Stress to Adjustment Among Mothers in Prison

Incarcerated mothers at a maximum security prison (N = 362) participated in a study of the relationship between parenting stress, measured by a modification of the R. R. Abidin (1995) Parenting Stress Index, and adjustment, assessed by the L. Derogatis (1993) Brief Symptom Inventory and institutional records of misconduct. Stress associated with limited contact with children was related to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and somatization. Stress concerning visitation was significantly related to anxiety. Stress concerning competence as a parent was associated with elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as with increased institutional misconduct. Incarcerated women experience considerable distress related to parenting, manifest in psychological and behavioral adjustment.

Psychiatric symptoms, history of victimization, and violent behavior among incarcerated female felons: an American perspective.

Janet I. Warren*, Susan Hurt, Ann Booker Loper, Risha Bale, Roxanne Friend, Preeti Chauhan Associate Director, Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, University of Virginia, UVA Health Systems, PO Box 800660, Charlottesville, VA, USA Prison Project Manager, Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, University of Virginia, UVA Health Systems, PO Box 800660, Charlottesville, VA, USA Associate Professor of Education, Curry School of Education and Clinical Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA Director, Mental Health Unit, Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, Troy, VA, USA Mental Health Clinical Supervisor, Virginia Department of Corrections, Richmond, VA, USA Research Programs Coordinator, Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, University of Virginia, UVA Health Systems, PO Box 800660, Charlottesville, VA, USA

Parenting Programs for Incarcerated Parents Current Research and Future Directions

Increases in the number of incarcerated parents have led to the implementation of parent training programs in prisons. Although many programs exist, programs differ in their design and methods of self-assessment. This article examines the current state of research on parenting interventions, including the types of programs available, the outcomes measured in each study, and the overall effectiveness of parent training. Variables that may affect program effectiveness, such as sentence length, educational level, and parent gender, are considered. The importance of primary prevention through parent training is discussed, including implications for social welfare and further scientific inquiry.

Parenting Stress, Alliance, Child Contact, and Adjustment of Imprisoned Mothers and Fathers

The present study contrasted the parenting stress and adjustment patterns of 100 mothers and 111 fathers incarcerated in one of 11 U.S. prisons. In comparison to inmate mothers, fathers had less contact with children, higher levels of parenting stress, and poorer alliance with caregivers. For inmate mothers, higher levels of contact with children—particularly letter writing—was associated with reduced parenting stress. For both mothers and fathers, there was an association between heightened parenting stress and increased levels of self-reported in-prison violent and aggressive behaviors. For women, increased parenting stress as well as lower levels of parenting alliance with caregivers was associated with heightened depressive symptoms. Results imply the importance of recognizing the impact of separation from children on parents in prison, and support the need for prison parenting interventions that directly address ways of coping with parenting stress.

Exploring Prison Adjustment among Female Inmates: Issues of Measurement and Prediction

This article explores the factor structure and concurrent validity of the Prison Adjustment Questionnaire with a cohort of 777 maximum-security female inmates. Results suggest a two-factor solution of a Distress factor and a Conflict factor, both of which demonstrate good concurrent validity using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) Global Severity Score, institutional misconduct, security level, and self-report violence. Regression analyses indicate scores on the Distress factor were predicted by the BSI Anxiety Scale, having children, not being of minority status, and prior incarceration. Scores on the Conflict factor were predicted by BSI Hostility, BSI Phobic Anxiety, presence of a personality disorder, being married, being the victim of threats and physical assaults, time served, and being incarcerated for a violent crime.

Adjustment Patterns in Incarcerated Women An Analysis of Differences Based on Sentence Length

This study investigated how adjustment patterns in incarcerated women are related to length of sentence. Participants included 692 female inmates who were divided into groups based on prison sentence length: long-term (10+ years), medium-term (2-10 years), and short-term (less than 2 years). Adjustment measures included the Brief Symptom Inventory and the Prison Adjustment Questionnaire. Institutional records provided information on behavioral misconduct. Results found that long- and medium-term inmates reported higher feelings of conflict and committed significantly more nonviolent and institutional offenses than short-term inmates. Results indicated no significant relationship between sentence length and emotional adjustment. These results suggest that long- and medium-term female inmates exhibit more difficulty with conflict and institutional misconduct than short-term inmates, thereby needing more specialized interventions.

The Role of Impulsivity in Antisocial and Violent Behavior and Personality Disorders Among Incarcerated Women

This study investigated the relationships among impulsivity, antisocial and violent behavior, and personality disorders in 590 female inmates of a maximum-security female prison. Measures included the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, Prison Violence Inventory, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders Screening Questionnaire, numbers of institutional infractions recorded in inmate files, and violent versus nonviolent offending. Results showed that impulsivity was associated with personality psychopathology and aggressive and antisocial behavior. In contrast to findings of studies with male inmates, female violent offenders did not demonstrate higher levels of impulsivity than nonviolent offenders.

Homicide by juvenile girls

We investigated offense characteristics for a national sample of 38,749 homicide arrestees identified in the FBI Supplemental Homicide Reports for 1984 and 1993. Analyses indicated little change from 1984 to 1993 in the circumstances of homicides committed by adolescent girls; however, there were consistent offense differences between girls and boys, and between girls and women. Homicides by adolescent girls were more likely than those committed by boys to involve interpersonal conflict rather than a criminal motive such as robbery. Girls were more likely than boys to use a knife rather than a firearm and their victims were more likely to be under the age of 13 years. Compared to women (18 years or older), girls were more likely to act with an accomplice and their victims were more likely to be female and between 13 and 20 years of age. Results were inconsistent with a stereotypic masculinization theory of the increase in female violence, but provide indirect support for the importance of domestic stress and relational conflict experienced by adolescent girls. Overall, this study supports the need for differentiated study of violence by juvenile girls, and for preventive interventions which target domestic and interpersonal stress.

Exploring gender differences in trauma exposure and the emergence of symptoms of PTSD among incarcerated men and women

Our study examines gender differences in traumatic exposure and associated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms reported by a 266 male and female inmates. In our sample, 94.7% of the inmates had experienced at least one traumatic event identified in Trauma History Questionnaire – Modified. Male inmates reported higher rates of witnessing harm to others in childhood (22.4%) and adolescence (43.25) and female inmates, higher rates of interpersonal sexual trauma in childhood (31.2%), adolescence (35.3%), and adulthood (27.7%). Women showed higher rates of PTSD (40.2%) when compared to men (12.5%), as measured by the total PTSD score of the Impact of Event Scale – Revised. The combined trauma types explained 12% and 16% of the total PTSD score in the female and male samples, respectively. In the female model, interpersonal sexual trauma was a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms; whereas in the male model, interpersonal nonsexual trauma was a significant predictor. We discuss these findings as they inform our understanding of gender differences in trauma response and psychiatric morbidity in adulthood.

The influence of religious participation on the adjustment of female inmates.

Incarcerated women at a state correctional facility (N = 213) participated in a study of the relationship between stress, adjustment, institutional misconduct, and degree of personal support derived from religious participation. A series of multivariate analyses of variance investigated differences on adjustment indicators between four groups of inmates who differed on their self-reported support from religious activities, while controlling for self-reported support for other institutional activities. Inmates who received high-level support from participation in religious activities reported significantly less depression, recounted perpetrating fewer aggressive acts, and committed fewer serious institutional infractions than those who did not attend religious activities as well as those who attended but reported receiving low-level support. In addition, inmates reporting a high level of support through their religious activities reported fewer instances of feeling angry, having arguments with inmates and correctional officers, physical fights, and injury than those who reported no participation in religious activities. Results indicate that inmates who perceive that they are receiving personal support from religious activities are better adjusted to the challenges of prison.