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

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious 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. MethodsLong- (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). ResultsIn 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. ConclusionsThe 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.