Mentally Disordered Women in Jail: Who Receives Services?

Overview

Journal Am J Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 1997 Apr 1

PMID 9146439

Citations 12

Authors

L A Teplin

K M Abram

G M McClelland

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: Many jail inmates have severe psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia, major affective disorders). The courts have mandated that detainees have a constitutional right to treatment. We investigated what proportion of female jail detainees needed mental health services, what proportion received services, and what variables predicted who received services.

Methods: Trained interviewers administered a psychiatric evaluation (the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule) to 1272 randomly selected female jail detainees during jail intake in a large Midwestern city. Project staff then documented whether women subsequently received services, using records and case files.

Results: Of the women who needed services, 23.5% received them while they were in jail. Type of disorder, treatment history, and socio-demographic variables all affected the odds of a mentally ill woman's receiving services.

Conclusions: Correctional health care is a growing national public health problem. The magnitude of mental health service needs far exceeds current resources.

Citing Articles

Prevalence of Mental Health and Addiction Service use Prior to and During Incarceration in Provincial Jails in Ontario, Canada: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Kurdyak P, Friesen E, Young J, Borschmann R, Iqbal J, Huang A Can J Psychiatry. 2021; 67(9):690-700.

PMID: 34792415 PMC: 9449135. DOI: 10.1177/07067437211055414.

Community-Based Mental Health Treatment Preceding Jail Detention among Adults with Serious Mental Illness.

Swartz J, Tabahi S Int J Forensic Ment Health. 2021; 16(2):104-116.

PMID: 34234625 PMC: 8259790. DOI: 10.1080/14999013.2016.1255283.

The Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST).

Keyvan A, Ger M, Erturk S, Turkcan A Noro Psikiyatr Ars. 2017; 52(3):296-302.

PMID: 28360727 PMC: 5353065. DOI: 10.5152/npa.2015.7587.

Motivation to Reduce Risk Behaviors While in Prison: Qualitative Analysis of Interviews with Current and Formerly Incarcerated Women.

Abad N, Carry M, Herbst J, Fogel C J Qual Crim Justice Criminol. 2015; 1(2):347-363.

PMID: 26693183 PMC: 4675167.

Oxford recovery housing: Length of stay correlated with improved outcomes for women previously involved with the criminal justice system.

Jason L, Salina D, Ram D Subst Abus. 2015; 37(1):248-54.

PMID: 25962090 PMC: 4826029. DOI: 10.1080/08897077.2015.1037946.

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