Objective
People with mental illnesses
are understood to be overrepresented in the U.S. criminal justice system, and
estimates of the prevalence of mental illnesses in corrections settings are
crucial for planning and implementing preventive and diversionary policies and
programs. Despite consistent scholarly attention, two federal self-report
surveys are typically cited, and these may not represent the extent of relevant
data. This systematic review identifies studies that assess the prevalence of
mental illnesses in U.S. state prisons, in order to develop a broader picture
of prison prevalence and identify methodological challenges to obtaining
accurate and consistent estimates.
Methods
Medline, PsycInfo, the
National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Social Services Abstracts, Social
Work Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts were searched. Studies were included
if they were published between 1989 and 2013; focused on U.S. state prisons;
reported prevalence of diagnoses/symptoms of DSM Axis I disorders; and
identified screening/assessment strategies.
Results
Twenty-eight articles met
inclusion criteria. Estimates of current and lifetime prevalence of mental
illnesses varied widely; however, the range of prevalence estimates for
particular disorders was much greater—and tended to be higher—in prisons than
community samples.
Conclusions
Operationalizations of
mental illnesses, sampling strategies, and case ascertainment strategies likely
contributed to inconsistency in findings. Other reasons for study heterogeneity
are discussed, and implications for public health are explored.
Full article at: http://goo.gl/4K5YlM
By: Seth J. Prins, MPH
Seth J. Prins, Columbia University Department of
Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health 722 W. 168th Street, 720-C Department
of Epidemiology New York, New York 10032
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv insight
No comments:
Post a Comment