Introduction to Special Section: CSA Victimization in Incarcerated Populations

ABSTRACT

Research suggests that individuals involved in the criminal justice system have higher rates of childhood trauma, including experiences of child sexual abuse (CSA). Studies also suggest that childhood victimization has an impact on the success of mental health treatment for offenders which may contribute to recidivism rates. Accordingly, policymakers and correctional staff can be better informed in choosing appropriate assessments and intervention approaches when they understand the ways in which prior experiences of CSA impact individuals in correctional settings. This special section highlights four novel studies that advance the research examining CSA in incarcerated populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Incarceration
• victimization
• offenders
• prisoners
• CSA
• corrections
• jails
• detention
• criminal justice system

Acknowledgments

Jessica Mueller-Coyne, Psy.D. thanks the authors and reviewers for their contribution to this Special Section and for providing their thoughtful recommendations for building the next steps in research, policy, and best practices within our justice and community-based systems.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Jessica Mueller-Coyne

Dr. Jessica Mueller-Coyne is a clinical psychologist who has been working in correctional faclities since 2016. She teaches in the forensic psychology certificate at San Diego State University. She has also been working in the journals department at the Institute on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma (IVAT) since 2014.