229779 Impact of stigma on the health of young women leaving jail

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 1:10 PM - 1:30 PM

Juliana Elizabeth Van Olphen, PhD, MPH , Health Education, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Doris Fendt, BA , Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Amie R. Fishman, MPH (c) , Health Education Department, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Karen Levine , Sheriff's Department, Women's Reentry Center, San Francisco, CA
Nakisha McDowell , Sheriff's Department, Women's Reentry Center, San Francisco, CA
Julie Posada Guzman , Sheriff's Department, JPG Consulting, San Francisco, CA
  
Since 1990, due largely to the War on Drugs, the number of incarcerated women has grown at nearly twice the rate of men. Women make up an increasing proportion of jail inmates, reaching 12.7 percent of the population in 2005, compared to 10.2 percent in 1995. Women returning home from jail experience a significant amount of stigma related to their drug use and incarceration, yet little research to date has explored the impact of stigma on women's lives post-release. In this study, a community-based participatory research approach was adopted to explore experiences of stigma and discrimination among young women returning home from jail. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with women, age 18-25, released from San Francisco County Jail within the past year. Results suggest that stigma operates both at the individual and structural levels, influencing the success of a woman's transition from jail to home. Social support received by women in jail and after release appears to buffer against some of the damaging effects of stigma on health. Implications of these findings for reentry programs and anti-stigma policy and program development will be discussed.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe the impacts of stigma on the health of formerly incarcerated women. Discuss factors that protect formerly incarcerated young women from the damaging impacts of stigma. Identify potential directions for anti-stigma interventions to improve the health of young, formerly incarcerated women.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Criminal Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I conducted the research that is the subject of the abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4221.0: The health of incarcerated women: A matter of social justice