Quality of Life in Jail: Gender, Correlates, and Drivers in a Carceral Space

• Author: Stephanie Grace Prost,Laura E. Bedard,Lisa S. Panisch
• Date: 01 August 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X19896906
• Published date: 01 August 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X19896906

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2020, Vol. 64(10-11) 1156 –1177

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X19896906

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Original Manuscript

Quality of Life in Jail: Gender,

Correlates, and Drivers in a

Carceral Space

Stephanie Grace Prost1,

Lisa S. Panisch2, and Laura E. Bedard3

Abstract

Quality of life (QOL) is an important area of exploration in U.S. corrections linked

closely to well-being and an important indicator of intervention efficacy. Little

is known of QOL in U.S. jails despite the admittance of over 10-million people to

these settings every year. Research regarding the dimensions, correlates, and gender

disparities in QOL in jails is important to shaping gender-responsive supports and

reducing recidivism. Independent t tests and correlational and regression analyses

were used to explore dimensions, correlates, and gender disparities in QOL among

persons incarcerated in a large, southeastern jail (N = 299). All QOL domains were

significantly related to overall QOL, and psychological QOL contributed most readily

to respondent’s overall QOL. Females, on average, reported lower QOL than males

with significant differences between the groups in physical health and psychological

domains. The importance of psychological QOL intervention and healthcare continuity

are discussed.

Keywords

quality of life, well-being, gender disparities, jail, incarceration

The United States boasts the highest incarceration rate in the world (698 per 100,000;

Wagner & Sawyer, 2018) with 2.27-million persons incarcerated in jails and prisons

at 2017 year-end (Equal Justice Initiative, 2019). Although the vast majority of

1University of Louisville, KY, USA

2The University of Texas at Austin, USA

3Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Sanford, FL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Stephanie Grace Prost, Kent School of Social Work, 2217 S. Third Street, University of Louisville,

Louisville, KY 40292, USA.

Email: stephanie.prost@louisville.edu

896906IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X19896906International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyProst et al.

research-article2019

Prost et al. 1157

persons confined in the United States are detained in prisons, 740,700 persons were

incarcerated in local jails at 2016 year-end accounting for 11.2% of all persons super-

vised by U.S. adult correctional systems (Kaeble & Cowhig, 2018). As the “nucleus

of our system of justice,” millions more individuals make their way through jails than

prisons every year; however, jails are often neglected from criminal justice research

(Bales & Garduno, 2016, p. 267).

Women in jails, particularly, are described as overlooked (Swavola, Riley, &

Subramanian, 2016). The vacancy of women’s needs in both criminal justice policy

and thereby practice (Blomberg & Lucken, 2010) is often justified by the lower incar-

ceration rates and sheer numbers of justice-involved women. But while the rate of

incarceration in U.S. jails is higher among males than females (394 vs. 69 per 100,000;

Zeng, 2019), the female incarceration rate grew by 10% from 2005 to 2017 compared

with a 12% decrease for males during the same period. And critically, women’s incar-

ceration has been disproportionate in U.S. jails rather than prisons (Kajstura, 2018).

Approximately 113,400 women were confined to local jails, accounting for 15.2% of

this population at 2017 year-end (Zeng, 2019).

It is well known that the physical and mental health of persons who are incarcerated

is worse than their non-incarcerated peers (James & Glaze, 2006; Maruschak,

Berzofsky, & Unangst, 2016). However, persons housed in locally run jails have

higher rates of any mental problem and mental health disorder symptoms than persons

incarcerated in prisons (James & Glaze, 2006). This is driven in part by shorter stays—

persons in jails have fewer opportunities to receive essential diagnostic and treatment

services than their peers in prisons (James & Glaze, 2006). Jails also tend to be more

chaotic with populations in constant flux due to bond and court releases (May,

Applegate, Ruddell, & Wood, 2014). However, gender disparities exist in the context

of mental and behavioral health among persons in jails. Women make their way to jails

and prisons on routes pocked with adverse childhood experiences such as physical and

sexual abuse, subsequent mental health sequelae, and substance use disorders borne of

maladaptive coping. Justice-involved women also face limited self-efficacy and fewer

economic opportunities than their male peers (Salisbury & Van Voorhis, 2009).

No known studies have examined dimensions, correlates, and gender disparities in

quality of life (QOL) among persons incarcerated in U.S. jails despite the intimate

connections between physical and mental health and QOL in non-carceral settings

(Bize, Johnson, & Plotnikoff, 2007; Fleury et al., 2013; Fortin et al., 2004; Nunes,

Flores, Mielke, Thume, & Facchini, 2016). Furthermore, links between QOL and men-

tal and behavioral health (e.g., psychological distress; Muller & Bukten, 2019), execu-

tive functioning (Combalbert, Pennequin, Ferrand, Keita, & Geffray, 2018), suicide

risk and self-harm (Combalbert et al., 2019; De Smet et al., 2017), and rehabilitation

(Williams, 2003) have been found in samples of persons who are incarcerated in pris-

ons. Knowledge regarding the QOL of persons who are incarcerated in jail is impor-

tant for enhancing well-being among these vulnerable groups due to links between

QOL and numerous health outcomes. And in the context of sky rocketing rates of

incarceration among women and gendered pathways to incarceration, examining QOL

aligns with the rehabilitative ideal in corrections and may be potentially empowering