The Influence of Interpersonal Violence and Adult Attachment on Incarcerated Women’s Mental Health and Parenting Self-Perception

ABSTRACT

Women in jail represent a vulnerable population with high rates of trauma exposures and mental health problems. The majority of incarcerated women are also parents of minor children. This study represents the first approach to date to examine the relations among interpersonal violence exposures, adult attachment, mental health, and parenting in women in jail. The participants were randomly selected and included 120 mothers of minor children incarcerated at two jails in the Western U.S. Results of a structural equation model analysis indicate that lifetime interpersonal violence was associated with insecure attachment and women’s current psychopathology (e.g. depression, PTSD, and dissociative symptoms). Further, insecure attachment was associated with higher levels of mental health problems and was negatively associated with perceptions of parenting. Examining the associations among these constructs in a sample of mothers in jail has potential to inform interventions to address mental health and parenting needs in this underserved population.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• incarcerated women
• interpersonal violence
• mental health
• parenting
• PTSD

Disclosure statement

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