The Collateral Damage of Mass Incarceration: Risk of Psychiatric Morbidity Among Nonincarcerated Residents of High-Incarceration Neighborhoods.
Objectives. We examined whether residence in neighborhoods with high levels of incarceration is associated with psychiatric morbidity among nonincarcerated community members. Methods. We linked zip code-linked information on neighborhood prison admissions rates to individual-level data on mental health from the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (2008-2012), a prospective probability sample of predominantly Black individuals. Results. Controlling for individual- and neighborhood-level risk factors, individuals living in neighborhoods with high prison admission rates were more likely to meet criteria for a current (odds ratio [OR] = 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.7, 5.5) and lifetime (OR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.4, 4.6) major depressive disorder across the 3 waves of follow-up as well as current (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.0, 4.2) and lifetime (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.2, 4.5) generalized anxiety disorder than were individuals living in neighborhoods with low prison admission rates. These relationships between neighborhood-level incarceration and mental health were comparable for individuals with and without a personal history of incarceration. Conclusions. Incarceration may exert collateral damage on the mental health of individuals living in high-incarceration neighborhoods, suggesting that the public mental health impact of mass incarceration extends beyond those who are incarcerated.
Mark L. Hatzenbuehler is with the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Katherine Keyes, Ava Hamilton, and Sandro Galea are with the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health. Monica Uddin is with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.
Mark L
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Hatzenbuehler
Katherine
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Keyes
Ava
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Hamilton
Monica
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Uddin
Sandro
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Galea