Trauma Symptoms for Men and Women in Substance Abuse Treatment: A Latent Transition Analysis

One Step at a Time: A Latent Transitional Analysis on Changes in Substance Use, Exposure to Violence, and HIV/AIDS Risk Behaviors among Female Offenders

“…Our analyses also suggest the need for trauma-informed interventions among females involved in the criminal justice system as other studies have concluded (Cosden et al, 2015; Messina et al, 2014; Saxena et al, 2014; Torchalla et al, 2012). Prior research has found that among individuals in substance use treatment, higher relapse rates were evident among women with a history of trauma due to emotional, physical, or sexual abuse compared to men who also experienced such trauma (Cosden et al, 2015).…”

“…Females in the criminal justice system, including those in drug courts, have been shown to have comorbid issues such as exposure to violence and HIV/AIDS risk behaviors including multiple sex partners and unprotected sex (Festinger, Dugosh, Kurth, & Metzger, 2016; Morse, Silverstein, Thomas, Bedel, & Cerulli, 2015; DePesa, Eldridge, Deavers, & Cassisi, 2015; Cosden, Larsen, Donahue, & Nylund-Gibson, 2015; Meyer, Cepeda, Taxman, & Altice, 2015; Messina, Calhoun, & Braithwaite, 2014; Saxena, Messina, & Grella, 2014, Torchalla, Nosen, Rostam, & Allen, 2012; Millay et al, 2009). Specifically, female offenders have been reported to have substance use related problems at a higher rate than male offenders and nearly ten times higher than non-offending women (Saxena et al, 2014).…”

“…Specifically, female offenders have been reported to have substance use related problems at a higher rate than male offenders and nearly ten times higher than non-offending women (Saxena et al, 2014). Research by Cosden et al (2015) found that a lifetime prevalence of comorbid trauma and substance use has been reported by 80–90% among in-treatment individuals.…”

“…In this model, Prochaska et al (1992) suggest that there are 4 stages of change through which individuals move to make changes in their behaviors: 1) the pre-contemplation stage, where individuals are unaware of the necessity to change, 2) the contemplation stage, where individuals are aware of behavior that needs to change but have not made any definitive decision to change, 3) the action stage, where individuals are considerably modifying their behaviors for up to 6 months and 4) the maintenance stage, where the prime focus is relapse prevention. Theories of health behavior change suggest that change occurs in stages; thus, new analysis techniques such as the latent transitional analysis (LTA), a longitudinal extension of a latent class analysis (LCA), can serve as a means to quantify discrete stages of behavior change, through the estimation of the probability of transitions among those in observed latent statuses (Cosden et al, 2015; Lanza & Collins, 2008; Lanza, Patrick, & Maggs, 2010). …”

Gender Considerations in Addiction: Implications for Treatment

“…Severity of mental health symptoms, however, did not differ by gender and lifetime trauma did not predict employment outcomes. Another recent study showed that trauma-informed treatment led to reductions in trauma symptom severity for both men and women (41). …”