Incarceration History and Depressive Symptoms Among Women Released from US Correctional Facilities: Does Timing, Duration, or Frequency Matter?

Research on the impact of incarceration history on the depressive symptoms of released women has yielded conflicting findings, potentially due to the use of an oversimplified dichotomized measure of incarceration history that masks the significant heterogeneity in women’s incarceration history across different studies. This study used Add Health measures that reflect the timing, duration, and frequency of incarceration to examine its association with released women’s depressive symptoms. Chi-square and t tests were conducted to characterize released women (n = 626) in comparison to women without an incarceration history (n = 7237). Simple correlation analyses and multiple linear regression were then used to determine the association between incarceration history and released women’s depressive symptoms. Findings revealed that the timing, duration, and frequency of incarceration were not significant correlates of released women’s depressive symptoms. Instead, experiences of cumulative disadvantages were significant predictors. We concluded that the effects of cumulative disadvantages on released women’s depressive symptoms might outsize the impact of incarceration history.