Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Psychology

Reader 1

Stacy Wood

Reader 2

Jose Arreola

Abstract

This study examines whether incarcerated women with pre-existing mental health diagnoses receive equitable access to mental health treatment and rehabilitation services during incarceration. The two primary research questions guiding this study are whether having a prior mental health diagnosis predicts lower odds of receiving rehabilitative mental health care and if pre-existing diagnoses predict reduced access to adequate rehabilitation services compared to women without those diagnoses. To answer these questions, the study proposes a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of mental health interventions compared to standard care in prison. Logistic regression analyses will be used to test both hypotheses, controlling for demographic and institutional factors. The anticipated results suggest that women with pre-existing mental health diagnoses will have significantly lower odds of receiving adequate treatment and will obtain lower adequacy scores on the rehabilitation scales. These findings could contribute to a growing body of research highlighting gaps in carceral mental health care. They could inform policy aimed at improving standards of care for women entering the system with already established mental health needs.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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