Substance Abuse and Trauma in Incarcerated Women

Substance Abuse and Trauma in Incarcerated Women: An Effectiveness Study

The proposed study will evaluate Covington's Helping Women Recover (HWR) plus Beyond Trauma (BT) curriculum with female offenders at Eddie Warrior Correctional Facility in Taft, Oklahoma. The purpose of the proposed study is to expand previous findings by including a comparison group of women that are not receiving treatment but are otherwise eligible, and by using outside evaluators to conduct the assessments. Furthermore, this study will extend the outcomes measured in previous evaluations by including measures of sleep disturbance, posttraumatic cognitions, and a more extensive assessment of trauma-related symptoms. The hypotheses for this study are listed below:

1. Incarcerated women with substance use disorders and history of trauma enrolled in the integrated treatment program (HWR plus BT) will report significantly fewer symptoms on measures of posttraumatic stress and associated cognitions, substance use, depression, and related symptoms following treatment than those in the comparison group.
2. Those in the treatment group will improve significantly more than those in the comparison group on the symptoms listed above.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Incarcerated women at Eddie Warrior Correctional Center (EWCC) in Taft, Oklahoma

• The following 6 criteria are then employed at EWCC for HWR/BT treatment eligibility:

  1. An Level of Service Inventory (LSI) score of 30 or greater
  2. An LSI protective score of 15 or less
  3. 1.5 years or less remaining in prison
  4. A Case Plan identifying substance abuse treatment need
  5. Ability to read and comprehend
  6. 18 years of age or older

Exclusion Criteria:

• Under age 18
• Not incarcerated
• More than 1.5 years remaining in prison
• LSI score less than 30 or a protective of more than 15
• No identified substance abuse need
• Inability to read and comprehend