Samenvatting

Incarcerated women have specific characteristics, needs, health problems, and have different experiences and adjustment problems to prison than men. Based on a survey of 251 female inmates, this paper analyses the association between imported factors, deprivation factors and psychological complaints. Depressive complaints, irritability, and risk of self-harm were all predicted through examination of both imported and deprivation factors. Psychological problems before detention was the most significant imported factor predicting psychological complaints. The most important deprivation factors were treatment by staff and other inmates and environmental stress. Posttraumatic stress complaints were predicted only by imported factors (traumatic events and psychological problems before detention). Next to the importation and deprivation factors, this paper suggests inclusion of a third group of factors: relations with children and family, which may be an independent group of factors in addition to the factors related to the prison environment.