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Justice Department
study: mental illness prevalent in inmates
(November
2006 Issue)
By Ami Albernaz
Psychologists say they are not surprised at findings from a Justice
Department study that symptoms of mental illness are prevalent in
U.S. jails and prisons. The study, released in September, found
that 64 percent of local inmates, 56 percent of state prisoners
and 45 percent of federal prisoners have symptoms of serious mental
illnesses, such as major depression and mania.
The study relied on personal interviews with some 25,000 inmates,
rather than official diagnoses. Psychologists say that while cutbacks
in mental health services over the past decades may be partially
to blame, prison life and the circumstances that often lead to it
result in some level of mental distress.
"In any given year, 20 percent of the general population has some
symptoms of a DSM disorder. Given that, it's hardly surprising to
find that twice or three times that number of inmates do," says
Michael Murtagh, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the psychology
department at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts and a former
prison psychologist. "Prisons are not designed to be fun. People
lose their civil liberties. It would be odd to not have some sort
of psychological response to being locked up."
Inmates often have histories of homelessness, substance or sexual
abuse, which almost inevitably lead to some symptoms of mental illness,
says Dan Bannish, Psy.D., director of health services programs for
the Connecticut Department of Corrections. "I've done hundreds if
not thousands of intakes, and those who denied mental illness, when
you go through their life stories, you say if they didn't have a
mental illness, they should have," he says. "They've gone through
a lot of bad experiences that don't reach the threshold of PTSD
or something like that, largely because they are resilient and can
survive."
Of inmates with mental health problems, about one in three state
prisoners, one in four federal prisoners and one in six jail inmates
had received mental health treatment since incarceration. Roughly
three to five percent of inmates have a serious mental disorder.
To psychologists, the Justice Department study figures appear to
illustrate a larger cycle: Adverse life circumstances can lead to
mental distress and incarceration, and without adequate community
supports, people end up returning to prison.
"Cutting back on mental health services, whether community or hospital-based,
is part of the picture," says Ronald J. Smith, Ph.D., chief of mental
health services for the Vermont Department of Corrections. Following
reductions in the number of psychiatric facilities, jails and prisons
become a sort of default for some who are mentally ill, Murtagh
adds.
To Murtagh, Bannish and Smith, prevention and early intervention
are the best ways to counter the problems highlighted in the study.
"Sometimes we sweep things under the rug until they're too big to
be swept around," Murtagh says. "If we start early on, we could
avoid keeping people in prisons."
"The numbers are more representative of a social ill that we've
ignored," Bannish adds. "We should have intervened when a kid was
three, not 23. If a four- or five-year-old is exposed to violence
and abuse, that has an impact."
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