Different yet similar? Prisoners versus psychiatric patients - A comparison of their mental health

作者：Otte S; Vasic N; Nigel S; Streb J; Ross T; Spitzer C; Grabe H J; Dudeck M

来源：European Psychiatry, 2017, 44: 97-103.

DOI：10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.04.006

• Prisoners
• Forensic psychiatry
• Psychological distress

Background: Previous research indicates that prisoners have severe psychological distress. To assess their distress level and potential need for treatment, the present study compared the subjective psychological distress of long- and short-term prisoners with that of psychiatric and forensic patients.
Methods: Long- (n = 98) and short-term prisoners (n = 94) and forensic (n = 102) and psychiatric (n = 199) patients completed the German versions of the Symptom Checklist Revised (SCL-90-R) and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI).
Results: In general, long- term prisoners showed the same level of mental distress as psychiatric patients and more than that reported by forensic patients. Short-term prisoners reported the least level of distress. Long- but not short-term prisoners showed clinically significant results on the scales for depression, paranoid ideation, and psychosis.
Conclusions: The improvements in psychiatric treatment for inmates demanded by many stakeholders need to differentiate between long- and short-term prisoners. Because depression seems to cause the most psychological distress among inmates, suicide prevention seems to be an important issue in prisons.

• 出版日期2017-7