Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb 16;5(1):132-142.
doi: 10.1089/whr.2023.0177. eCollection 2024.

Correlates of Unmet Need for Modern Contraception Among Reproductive-Aged Women Involved in New York City Criminal Legal Systems

Melissa N Slavin  1 , Brooke S West  2 , Deanna Schreiber-Gregory  3 , Frances R Levin  4 , Gina Wingood  5 , Steve Martino  6 , Golfo Tzilos Wernette  7 , Chermaine Black  2 , Nabila El-Bassel  2
Affiliations

Correlates of Unmet Need for Modern Contraception Among Reproductive-Aged Women Involved in New York City Criminal Legal Systems

Melissa N Slavin et al. Womens Health Rep (New Rochelle). .

Abstract

Introduction: The population of women involved in criminal legal systems (WICL), a majority of whom are reproductive-aged, has risen steadily in the United States. They contend with numerous barriers to sexual and reproductive health services resulting in high rates of unmet need for contraception and unintended pregnancy.

Materials and methods: This study included 132 non-pregnancy seeking reproductive-aged WICL enrolled in the baseline assessment of the HIV prevention intervention, "Women on the Road to Health" (WORTH). A multivariate generalized linear logistic regression model with robust estimation examined effects of past 6-month intimate partner violence (IPV; sexual and physical/injurious), past 3-month substance use (binge drinking, cannabis, other illegal drug use), and lifetime mental health diagnoses (anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder) on women's unmet need for modern contraception, adjusting for significant demographic and socioeconomic factors.

Results: Women who were younger in age (odds ratio [OR]: 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.63-0.88) and reporting lifetime diagnoses of anxiety disorders (OR: 13.64; 95% CI: 2.71-68.34) were significantly more likely to meet the criteria for unmet need for modern contraception. Women with a regular gynecologist (OR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01-0.86) reporting lifetime diagnoses of bipolar disorder and past 6-month sexual IPV histories (OR: 0.04; 95% CI: 0.002-0.86) were significantly less likely to meet the criteria for unmet need for modern contraception.

Conclusions: Distinct mental health diagnoses and experiences of IPV may uniquely impact unmet need for modern contraception among WICL. These findings emphasize the need for a more nuanced comprehension of these relationships to deliver comprehensive and holistic health services that address the intersecting needs of this population.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01784809. Registered 6 February 2013.

Keywords: contraception; criminal justice; intimate partner violence; mental disorders; substance use; unmet need.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

F.R.L. receives grant support from the NIDA, NCATS, SAMHSA, US WorldMeds, and research support from Aelis Pharmaceuticals. She also receives medication from Indivior for research and royalties from APA publishing. She will be in the NIAAA Board of Advisors. In addition, F.R.L. served as a nonpaid member of a Scientific Advisory Board for Alkermes, Atai Life Science, Boehringer Ingelheim, Indivior, Novartis, Teva, and US WorldMeds and is a consultant to Major League Baseball. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Monazzam N, Budd KM. The Sentencing Project: Incarcerated Women and Girls. 2023. Available from: https://www.sentencingproject.org/fact-sheet/incarcerated-women-and-girls [Last accessed: November 30, 2023].
    1. Bronson J, Stroop J, Zimmer S, et al. . Drug Use, Dependence, and Abuse Among State Prisoners and Jail Inmates, 2007–2009. U.S. Department of Justice, Office Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics: Washington, DC; 2017.
    1. Terplan M, Hand DJ, Hutchinson M, et al. . Contraceptive use and method choice among women with opioid and other substance use disorders: A systematic review. Prev Med 2015;80:23–31; doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.04.008 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hoff E, Adams ZM, Grimshaw A, et al. . Reproductive life goals: A systematic review of pregnancy planning intentions, needs, and interventions among women involved in US criminal justice systems. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2021;30(3):412–428; doi: 10.1089/jwh.2019.7951 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schonberg D, Bennett AH, Sufrin C, et al. . What women want: A qualitative study of contraception in jail. Am J Public Health 2015;105(11):2269–2274; doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302765 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Associated data

LinkOut - more resources