title: Offenders who are mothers with and without experience in prostitution: differences in historical trauma, current stressors, and physical and mental health differences.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Women offenders are a growing population in the criminal justice system; most are mothers. A subset of these women have a history of prostitution. Despite more recent research identifying the needs of women offenders who are mothers, those with and without experience in prostitution are still generally represented in the literature as a homogenous group.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined the differences between mothers who indicated that they had engaged in prostitution with those who had not. The data were from a survey of offending mothers in a Midwestern city and was based on 889 respondents. Approximately 20% of the women indicated that they had engaged in prostitution at some point in their lives.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mothers with histories of prostitution reported more exposure to violence, witnessing crime, living in areas with high drug activity, and having a higher rate of physical and mental health problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health care professionals who interact with mothers in the criminal justice system who have histories of prostitution should be careful to assess for a history of trauma and its psychological consequences. Along with increased health care needs, interventions are needed to help these women obtain basic needs such as stable housing outside of high crime and high drug-use areas and to receive targeted psychological services that respond to the unique trauma suffered by this subpopulation of offenders.
authors.affiliation: University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Tasha R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Perdue
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.forename: Lois A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Tiffany R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Hairston
authors.forename: La Tasha C
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Osborne
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Laux
authors.forename: Jeff L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Moe
authors.forename: Paula J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Dupuy
authors.forename: Barbaranne J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: Eric G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Lambert
authors.forename: Jane A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Vincent M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Nathan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011477:Sex Work / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult