Risk Factors For Incarceration Research Articles

Victimization Within and Beyond the Prison Walls: A Latent Profile Analysis of Transgender and Gender Diverse Adults.

Background: Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people are disproportionately incarcerated in the United States relative to the general population. A dearth of quantitative research has explored victimization as a risk factor for incarceration as well as the victimization experiences of formerly incarcerated TGD populations. Methods: In 2019, 574 TGD adults completed an online survey assessing sociodemographics, victimization across settings, and incarceration history. Latent class analysis was used to identify two sets of latent subgroups based on respondent's victimization experiences: 1) lifetime victimization (low; moderate; and high) and 2) classes of victimization while incarcerated (low; moderate; and high). Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses examined sociodemographic, mental health, and lifetime victimization experiences associated with lifetime incarceration (Outcome 1). Among those with incarceration histories, bivariate hierarchical logistic regression analyses also explored the association between gender identity, race/ethnicity, HIV status, visual gender non-conformity, and class of victimization during incarceration (Outcome 2) . Results: Participants' mean age was 31.4 (SD = 11.2), 43.4% had a non-binary gender identity, 81.5% were White, non-Hispanic, 2.1% were living with HIV, and 13.2% had been incarcerated. In the multivariable model for Outcome 1, high levels of victimization, age, being a racial/ethnic minority, being a trans woman, living with HIV, and past-12-month polysubstance use were all associated with increased odds of lifetime incarceration (p-values < 0.05). In the bivariate hierarchical logistic regression analyses for Outcome 2, living with HIV and having a visually gender non-conforming expression were significantly associated with elevated odds of experiencing high levels of victimization while incarcerated (p-values < 0.05). Conclusion: Findings document the relationships between victimization and incarceration among TGD people as well as identify the subpopulations at greater risk for incarceration and experiencing victimization while incarcerated. Efforts are needed to prevent victimization across the life course, including while incarcerated and support TGD individuals in coping with the negative sequelae of victimization and incarceration experiences.

Sex Differences in Inmates: Anger, Sensitivity to Provocation and Family History of Imprisonment.

Little research has explored the role of aggression, anger, and family history of incarceration as they relate to female offenders. The current study aimed to address this gap in the literature by investigating these possible risk factors for incarceration among both men and women. The survey involved 123 (61 female and 62 male) prisoners convicted for violent crimes and a comparison group of 118 (60 female and 58 male) adults from the community. We found that women (convicted and non-convicted) were more sensitive to provocation than men, while community adults showed higher levels of trait anger than prisoners. Detainees were more likely than community adults to have a relative in prison. Although male and female inmates were equally likely to have a relative in prison, they differed in their relation to the imprisoned relative. Male and female prisoners showed increased risk for incarceration of same sex, first degree relatives (father and brothers for men, and mothers for women). These results may contribute to improved understanding of incarcerated populations. As such, this represents a critical first step in creating recovery programs that are more gender appropriate.

Factors Associated with Incarceration in Older Adults Experiencing Homelessness: Results from the HOPE HOME Study.

BackgroundIn the US, the median age of adults experiencing homelessness and incarceration is increasing. Little is known about risk factors for incarceration among older adults experiencing homelessness. To develop targeted interventions, there is a need to understand their risk factors for incarceration.ObjectiveTo examine the prevalence and risk factors associated with incarceration in a cohort of older adults experiencing homelessness.DesignProspective, longitudinal cohort study with interviews every 6 months for a median of 5.8 years.ParticipantsWe recruited adults ≥50 years old and homeless at baseline (n=433) via population-based sampling.Main MeasuresOur dependent variable was incident incarceration, defined as one night in jail or prison per 6-month follow-up period after study enrollment. Independent variables included socioeconomic status, social, health, housing, and prior criminal justice involvement.Key ResultsParticipants had a median age of 58 years and were predominantly men (75%) and Black (80%). Seventy percent had at least one chronic medical condition, 12% reported heavy drinking, and 38% endorsed moderate-severe use of cocaine, 8% of amphetamines, and 7% of opioids. At baseline, 84% reported a lifetime history of jail stays; 37% reported prior prison stays. During follow-up, 23% spent time in jail or prison. In multivariable models, factors associated with a higher risk of incarceration included the following: having 6 or more confidants (HR=2.13, 95% CI=1.2–3.7, p=0.007), remaining homeless (HR=1.72, 95% CI=1.1–2.8, p=0.02), heavy drinking (HR=2.05, 95% CI=1.4–3.0, p<0.001), moderate-severe amphetamine use (HR=1.89, 95% CI=1.2–3.0, p=0.006), and being on probation (HR=3.61, 95% CI=2.4–5.4, p<0.001) or parole (HR=3.02, 95% CI=1.5–5.9, p=0.001).ConclusionsOlder adults experiencing homelessness have a high risk of incarceration. There is a need for targeted interventions addressing substance use, homelessness, and reforming parole and probation in order to abate the high ongoing risk of incarceration among older adults experiencing homelessness.

Adolescent Protective and Risk Factors for Incarceration through Early Adulthood

With 2.3 million individuals incarcerated in the United States, incarceration remains a pressing social influence on health. While risk factors for incarceration are known, research has been slow to identify protective factors. Characterizing adolescent protective and risk factors for incarceration outcomes can inform interventions to prevent incarceration. Using survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we tested the influence of adolescent risk and protective factors for incarceration of young people. We used ordinal logistic regressions, investigating the relationship between adolescent characteristics (wave I, grades 7–12) with two outcomes: incarceration onset (no incarceration, onset of incarceration as a juvenile, and onset of incarceration as an adult) and incarceration frequency (never incarcerated, incarcerated once, incarcerated more than once) during adolescence and into adulthood (N = 12,136, wave IV, ages 24–32). Adolescent protective factors against incarceration onset and higher incarceration frequency centered on education, including a higher grade point average and a higher likelihood of having future plans to attend college. Risk factors included disruptive behavior, physical or sexual abuse in childhood, parental incarceration, and living with a stepfather figure. Stratified analyses suggested that Latinos may have unique risk profiles compared to African American and White youth. The educational system may be a locus for protective interventions promoting academic achievement and educational aspirations. Understanding both incarceration risk and protective factors may allow interventions to be tailored appropriately.

Major Mental Illness as a Risk Factor for Incarceration.

Individuals with serious mental illness are overrepresented in correctional populations. However, little is known about the representation of persons with serious mental illness at earlier stages in the criminal justice process. This research sought to measure the prevalence of arrestees in New York State who were treated for a major mental illness in the year before their arrest and to assess whether these individuals had a disproportionate rate of incarceration. Approximately 600,000 individuals arrested in New York State between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2013, were matched against public mental health records to identify defendants diagnosed as having a major mental illness in the 12 months before their arrest. Between 4% and 6% of the arrestees were diagnosed as having a major mental illness during a mental health service visit in the 12 months prior to their arrest. A major mental illness diagnosis was associated with more than a 50% increase in the odds of a jail sentence for misdemeanor arrestees, after the analyses controlled for the other case characteristics. Conversely, it was unrelated to the likelihood of a prison sentence given a felony arrest, but it did moderate the effect of other case characteristics within the group of arrestees with felonies. Differential adjudication of misdemeanor arrestees with a major mental illness diagnosis appears to contribute to their overrepresentation within the jail population. The role that poverty and pretrial incarceration may play in this relationship was not explored in this research and should be the subject of future investigation.

Early adulthood psychiatric diagnoses and the subsequent risk of life-time incarceration: a cohort study.

The association between incarceration and psychiatric disorders has been noted. Yet, existing studies are cross-sectional or examine the risk of recidivism, which has limited the predictive validity of psychiatric disorders as a risk factor for incarceration. To overcome this limitation, this study used a prospective cohort to examine whether psychiatric diagnoses in early adulthood predicted incarceration throughout a 30-year follow-up. It tested the association between psychiatric diagnoses with future incarcerations, their number and durations, controlling for education and ethnic status. This study merged data from three sources in Israel: a prospective 10-year birth cohort study of young adults aged 25-34, conducted in the 1980s (N = 4914) that included a psychiatric interview; data from the Prison Service, including the cause, number and duration of incarcerations; and from the Vital Statistics Registry on death records. Multivariate analysis showed that substance-use disorders, antisocial personality and lower levels of education predicted future incarceration, their number and maximum duration. The remainder diagnoses were not significantly associated with future incarceration. Results limited the prediction of future incarcerations to persons diagnosed with substance use and antisocial personality, and do not support an independent predictive association between additional psychiatric diagnoses and future incarceration.

Risk Factors for Incarceration in Patients with Primary Abdominal Wall and Incisional Hernias: A Prospective Study in 4472 Patients

BackgroundIncarceration of primary and incisional hernias often results in emergency surgery. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relation of defect size and location with incarceration. Secondary objectives comprised identification of additional patient factors associated with an incarcerated hernia.MethodsA registry-based prospective study was performed of all consecutive patients undergoing hernia surgery between September 2011 and February 2016. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for incarceration.ResultsIn total, 83 (3.5%) of 2352 primary hernias and 79 (3.7%) of 2120 incisional hernias had a non-reducible incarceration. For primary hernias, a defect width of 3–4 cm compared to defects of 0–1 cm was significantly associated with an incarcerated hernia (OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.57–5.18, p = 0.0006). For incisional hernias, a defect width of 3–4 cm compared to defects of 0–2 cm was significantly associated with an incarceration (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.07–4.31, p = 0.0324). For primary hernias, defects in the peri- and infra-umbilical region portrayed a significantly increased odds for incarceration as compared to supra-umbilical defects (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.02–3.85, p = 0.043). Additionally, in primary hernias age, BMI, and constipation were associated with incarceration. In incisional hernias age, BMI, female sex, diabetes mellitus and ASA classification were associated with incarceration.ConclusionFor primary and incisional hernias, mainly defects of 3–4 cm were associated with incarceration. For primary hernias, mainly defects located in the peri- and infra-umbilical region were associated with incarceration. Based on patient and hernia characteristics, patients with increased odds for incarceration may be selected and these patients may benefit from elective surgical treatment.

Male Gender and Prematurity are Risk Factors for Incarceration in Pediatric Inguinal Hernia: A Study of 922 Children.

Objectives:The purpose of this study was to document clinical features of inguinal hernia (IH) in the pediatric population. It provides data to evaluate associated risk factors of incarcerated hernia, its recurrence as well as the occurrence of contralateral metachronous hernia.Materials and Methods:We report a retrospective analytic study including 922 children presenting with IH and operated from 2010 to 2013 in our pediatric surgery department.Results:We managed 143 girls (16%) and 779 boys (84%). The mean age was 2 years; the right side was predominantly affected (66.8%, n = 616). Incarcerated hernia was documented in 16% of cases with an incidence of 33% in neonates. The incarceration occurrence was 15.5% in males versus 2.09% in females. The surgical repair was done according to Forgue technique. Postoperatively, four cases of hernia recurrence were documented, and contralateral metachronous hernia was reported in 33 children with 7.7% females versus 2.8% males. Forty-five percent of them were infants. The mean follow-up period was 4 years. We think that incarceration can be related to several risk factors such as feminine gender, prematurity, and the initial left side surgical repair of the hernia.Conclusion:IH occurs mainly in male infants. Prematurity and male gender were identified as risk factors of incarceration. Contralateral metachronous hernia was reported, especially in female infants and after a left side surgical repair of the hernia.

Mental illness is a risk factor for incarceration, and inmate populations are rising in the United States. What does this mean for the practice of psychiatry?

Mental illness is a risk factor for incarceration, and inmate populations are rising in the United States. What does this mean for the practice of psychiatry?

Incarceration Among Adults Who Are in the Public Mental Health System: Rates, Risk Factors, and Short-Term Outcomes

Incarceration of people with mental illness has become a major social, clinical, and economic concern, with an estimated 2.1 million incarcerations in 2007. Prior studies have primarily focused on mental illness rates among incarcerated persons. This study examined rates of and risk factors for incarceration and reincarceration, as well as short-term outcomes after incarceration, among patients in a large public mental health system. The data set included 39,463 patient records combined with 4,544 matching incarceration records from the county jail system during fiscal year 2005-2006. Risk factors for incarceration and reincarceration were analyzed with logistic regression. Time after release from the index incarceration until receiving services was examined with survival analysis. During the year, 11.5% of patients (N=4,544) were incarcerated. Risk factors for incarceration included prior incarcerations; co-occurring substance-related diagnoses; homelessness; schizophrenia, bipolar, or other psychotic disorder diagnoses; male gender; no Medicaid insurance; and being African American. Patients older than 45, Medicaid beneficiaries, and those from Latino, Asian, and other non-Euro-American racial-ethnic groups were less likely to be incarcerated. Risk factors for reincarceration included co-occurring substance-related diagnoses; prior incarceration; diagnosed schizophrenia or bipolar disorder; homelessness; and incarceration for three or fewer days. Patients whose first service after release from incarceration was outpatient or case management were less likely to receive subsequent emergency services or to be reincarcerated within 90 days. Modifiable factors affecting incarceration risk include homelessness, substance abuse, lack of medical insurance, and timely receipt of outpatient or case management services after release from incarceration.

Is surgical repair of an asymptomatic groin hernia appropriate? A review

Groin herniorrhaphy is the most common operation performed by general surgeons. Annually, more than 20million groin hernias are repaired worldwide. The general approach towards groin hernias is surgical repair regardless of the presence of symptoms. The rationale to recommend surgery for asymptomatic groin hernias is prevention of visceral strangulation. The goal of this review is to evaluate the appropriateness of surgery in patients with asymptomatic groin hernias. The review was based on an extensive literature search of Pubmed, Medline and the Cochrane Library. The risk of incarceration is approximately 4 per 1,000 patients with a groin hernia per year. Risk factors for incarceration are age above 60years, femoral hernia site and duration of signs less than 3months. Morbidity and mortality rates of emergency groin hernia repair are higher in patients who are older than 49years, have a delay between onset of symptoms and surgery of more than 12h, have a femoral hernia, have nonviable bowel and have an ASA-class of 3 or 4. The recurrence rate after tension-free mesh repair in the management of emergency groin hernias is comparable to that of elective repair. There is no difference in pain and quality of life after elective repair compared to watchful waiting. There is no advantage in cost-effectiveness of elective repair compared to watchful waiting. Watchful waiting for asymptomatic groin hernias is a safe and cost-effective modality in patients who are under 50years old, have an ASA class of 1 or 2, an inguinal hernia, and a duration of signs of more than 3months.

Mental health and other risk factors for jail incarceration among male veterans.

Data derived from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails and the 2000 National Survey of Veterans show that having mental health problems in addition to such sociodemographic characteristics as being a member of a minority group, not being married, having less education, and being younger are risk factors for incarceration among veterans, as they are for the general population. As in previous studies veterans who served during the Vietnam Era and to an even greater extent, those who served in the early years of the All Volunteer Force were at greater risk of incarceration than veterans from the most recent period of the AVF, after controlling for age and other factors.

Gambling Behavior of Juvenile Offenders in Louisiana

The purpose of this paper was to determine the (1) frequency of and (2) types of prearrest gambling (3) prevalence of pathological gambling and (4) the associations of after school activities and gambling related symptoms among juvenile offenders in Louisiana, compared to a contemporaneous school sample. A gambling survey was administered to 343 (jail) and 1293 (prison) offenders, ages 10–19 and compared to random sample of 12,036 Louisiana students in sixth through twelfth grades. Results showed that juvenile offenders gambled more frequently than the school sample on every gambling activity. Juvenile offenders (20.5%) were more likely to be classified as pathological gamblers than students (3.9%). Thirteen per cent of the juvenile justice sample identified their arrest as gambling related. Pathological gamblers were twice as likely to have had a gambling-related arrest. Pathological gambling may pose a risk factor for incarceration in the juvenile age group. After school activities, including church, employment, and athletics were risk factors for gambling related symptoms in both populations.