Psychological Distress among Victimized Women on Probation and Parole: A Latent Class Analysis

Below:  Standardized mean scores of three subgroups of victimized women on probation and parole across nine latent class indicator variables

Latent class analysis was used to identify subgroups of victimized women (N=406) on probation and parole differentiated by levels of general psychological distress. The nine primary symptom dimensions from the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) were used individually as latent class indicators (Derogatis, 1993). Results identified three classes of women characterized by increasing levels of psychological distress; classes were further differentiated by posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, cumulative victimization, substance use and other domains of psychosocial functioning (i.e., sociodemographic characteristics; informal social support and formal service utilization; perceived life stress; and resource loss). The present research was effective in uncovering important heterogeneity in psychological distress using a highly reliable and easily accessible measure of general psychological distress. Differentiating levels of psychological distress and associated patterns of psychosocial risk can be used to develop intervention strategies targeting the needs of different subgroups of women. Implications for treatment and future research are presented.

Women are among the fastest growing segment of the correctional population. At present, over 200,000 women are incarcerated and more than 1 million women are on probation (Ajinkya, 2012). Approximately one out of every 89 women in the U.S. is involved in the criminal justice system and over 85% are sanctioned within the community...

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