CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 201X, Vol. XX, No. X, Month 2020, 1–18. DOI: ht t ps : / / doi . or g/ 10.1177/0093854820903071 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions © 2020 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology 1 HOW DOES TIMING AFFECT TRAUMA TREATMENT FOR WOMEN WHO ARE INCARCERATED? An Empirical Analysis ANA J. BRIDGES DANIELLE E. BAKER LAUREN E. HURD KAITLYN D. CHAMBERLAIN MORGAN A. HILL University of Arkansas MARIE KARLSSON Murray State University MELISSA J. ZIELINSKI University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Most women who are incarcerated have experienced sexual violence; difficulties adjusting to prison could interfere with women’s ability to benefit from trauma-focused therapy. Here, we explored whether therapeutic benefits of trauma treat- ment varied as a function of time since incarceration. Women (N = 128) participated in an 8-week group treatment for sexual violence victimization while incarcerated in a community corrections center for nonviolent offenses. Ninety partici- pants consented to the study and completed self-report questionnaires assessing internalizing symptoms (depression, post- traumatic stress, and shame) before and after treatment. Bivariate correlations revealed a significant negative association between time since incarceration and pretreatment depression but not posttraumatic symptoms or shame. Dependent-sample t tests revealed significant improvements from pretreatment to posttreatment in internalizing symptoms. Longer time since incarceration did not significantly predict internalizing symptoms after controlling for pretreatment symptom severity. Findings suggest trauma-focused treatments can be offered to women shortly after they are incarcerated. Keywords: sexual abuse; incarcerated women; trauma; treatment; PTSD AUTHORS’ NOTE: This project was supported by a grant from the American Psychological Foundation (PI: A. J. Bridges) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (PI: Zielinski; K23 DA048162). Correspondence con- cerning this article should be addressed to Ana J. Bridges, Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, 216 Memorial Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701; e-mail: abridges@uark.edu. 903071CJB XX X 10.1177/0093854820903071Criminal Justice and BehaviorBridges et al. / Timing of Trauma Treatment research-article 2020