1. Introduction The United States has one of the largest criminal justice populations in the world with over 6.94 million people under the supervision of the criminal justice system, many of whom are on probation and parole. Individuals involved in the criminal justice system are more likely to have one or more chronic health problems like hypertension, asthma, back pain, and arthritis (Mallik-Kane & Visher, 2008). The number of parents in prison increased 79% from 413,100 in 1991 to 686,000 in 2007 (The Sentencing Project, 2013). Not only does the poor health of parents serve as a barrier for the successful reentry of the parent, but criminal justice involvement and poor health both have a negative impact on their children as well. The purpose of this study is to examine predictors of physical health across gender and parental status categories (Father, Mother, Male Non-Parent, and Female Non- Parent). Understanding ways in which problem solving courts can address physical health issues can improve outcomes for both offenders and their children. Results Table 2 contains the demographic information for the study sample. Group comparisons indicate that there are statistically significant differences (p <.05) between gender and parent groups as it relates to unemployment (χ2 (3) = 9.02) and mental health symptoms experienced in the past 30 days (χ2 (12) = 7.82). The results from the regression equations are found in Table 3. All three gender and parental status dummy variables and experiencing mental health symptomatology within the past 30 days were statistically significant predictors of health. Post-hoc analyses of the interaction between mental health, and the gender and parental status dummy variables suggest that the interaction between mental health, and gender and parental status was significant for fathers only (t(10, 235) = - 2.34, p <.05). Discussion The findings illustrate the complex relationships among gender, parenthood, physical health, and mental health. Females without children rated their health the lowest overall. However, all gender and parental status variables were predictors of significantly poorer health compared to females without children. This may be due to the high prevalence of mental health symptomatology of females without children. Further, the effect of mental health symptomatology on health was significant for fathers only. There were limitations in the present study. Ethnicity was not included in the analysis because the majority (97.8%) of the sample identified themselves as white. There were also relatively few females who did not have children in the sample. Future research could use a sample that is more representative of all offenders involved in problem solving courts and use measures like mental health and substance use diagnosis, and a validated measure of perceived health. Conclusion Research has shown that linking individuals under community supervision to adequate health care is a substantial challenge. However it is important for practitioners and policy makers to focus on the health of individuals under community supervision because of the United States’ focus on problem solving courts and prison diversion. Furthermore, although a majority of studies of parenthood and health in the criminal justice system focus on mothers, findings from this study suggest that it is important to study fathers and non-parents as well. Predictors of Health in an Opiate Drug Court: Gender, Parental Status, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Michael C. Gearhart, MSSA; Mark I. Singer, PhD; Margaret Baughman Sladky PhD; Lacey Caporale, MA Methods The study sample is draw from a pilot program that evaluates 10 drug courts that specialize in opiate addiction in a Midwestern state. The original sample size was 242. Data were selected for inclusion if they had complete data on all of the measures in the analysis. The final sample size after screening is 236. See Table 1 for a list of key variables and measures used in this study. Bivariate comparisons were conducted to test the differences among gender and parent groups by using chi-square and one-way ANOVA tests with a Tukey HSD test to determine statistically significant differences in means. Measures of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, kurtosis, and histograms were examined for each variable to determine if the assumption of normality was violated. Bivariate correlations and the variance inflation factor for each predictor were examined to assess for multicollinearity. The variables were then entered into a hierarchical OLS regression equation. The first block included age, education, and employment. The second block added the gender and parental status dummy variables into the equation, and the third block added mental health symptomatology and substance use. VariableMeasure HealthRespondent perception of health with response options ranging from (0) poor to (4) excellent Gender and Parental StatusCombination of two dichotomous measures reporting gender and parental status AgeAge of the respondent at the time of enrollment recoded into categories ranging from (0) 18-24 to (4) 55+ EducationHighest level of education completed recoded into categories ranging from (0) less than HS to (3) Bachelor’s or above EmployedDichotomous measure assessing if an individual was employed at the time of enrollment Mental HealthDichotomous measure assessing if an individual experienced any of six mental health symptoms in the past 30 days Substance UseDichotomous measure assessing if an individual has used substances (e.g. alcohol, marijuana, etc.) in the past 30 days Table 1 – Variables and Corresponding Measures Block 1Block 2Block 3 bS.E.b b Constant2.560.302.830.293.230.29 Education0.090.070.100.070.040.07 Age-0.02*0.01-0.02*0.01-0.010.01 Employed0.230.130.160.130.080.12 Male (Non-Parent)-0.84*0.24-0.63*0.22 Mother-0.60*0.15-0.52*0.14 Father-0.42*0.16-0.42*0.15 Mental Health-0.67*0.12 Substance Use-0.140.11 R2R2 0.06*0.14*0.25* * p < 0.05 Female Non-Parent Male Non- ParentFatherMother n 19646190 Health a 1.78 (.92)2.61 (.79)2.07 (.94)1.88 (.90) Age 18-24 9 277 16 25-34 9333753 35-44 131513 45-54 0117 55+ 0011 Education Less than HS 261217 HS/GED 12 4436 49 Some College 411 20 Bachelor’s 0 21 1 Some Technical School 0011 Technical School Degree 1 10 2 Unemployed 11384272 Mental Health 16363765 Substance Use 8 2427 43 a Reported mean (s.d.) Table 2 – Sample Demographics and Group ComparisonsTable 3 – Regression Results for Predictors of Health Mallik-Kane, K., & Visher, C. A. (2008). Health and prisoner reentry: How physical, mental, and substance abuse conditions shape the process of reintegration. Washington DC, Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center. The Sentencing Project (2013). Parents in state prisons. Washington DC: The Sentencing Project. References