Associations Between Incarceration Duration and Depression Among Formerly Incarcerated Black Men in New York City

• In Event: Impact of Race and Gender on Criminal Justice Outcomes

Abstract

Black men are disproportionately represented among the 2.3 million individuals incarcerated in the United States. Incarceration can reportedly have a negative impact on mental health outcomes. To examine the extent to which incarceration duration was associated with depression, 107 Black men who were recently released from prison were recruited from social services and criminal justice agencies in the metropolitan New York City area and interviewed. The vast majority had never been married, were unemployed, had an extensive incarceration history, and used illicit drugs almost immediately post-release from incarceration. On average, participants spent approximately 3.5 years incarcerated, and had been released from a correctional institution within the previous 10 months. The Patient Health Question version 9 (PHQ-9) was used to examine depressive symptoms among our participants. While the average score on the PHQ-9 was in the non-depressed range, approximately 32% met the criteria for at least a mild level of depression. Factors associated with levels of depression and implications of our research findings will be discussed.

Authors

• Tawandra L. Rowell-Cunsolo, Columbia University

• Betsy Szeto, Columbia University

• Rahma Mkuu, Texas A&M University