Psychological distress in a sample of Moroccan prisoners with drug-dependence.

Anis Sfendla,Nóra Kerekes,Ylva Filipovic,Björn Martinsson,Meftaha Senhaji

doi:10.1177/0306624x211010286

Abstract

Research regarding mental illness and drug addiction among inmates in Morocco requires increased knowledge; previous literature reported that prisoners suffer from severe psychological distress. The present study aimed to provide information about Moroccan prisoners’ psychological distress and define the differences in psychological distress levels among inmates with and without drug-dependence. A sample of 177 male inmates completed a set of surveys, including the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The “Drug dependence” group scored significantly higher psychological distress levels in each of the BSI domains. The strongest differences were measured in the General Severity Index (GSI), hostility, and depression scales. Moroccan prison inmates have high psychological distress, and those with drug-dependence have even higher. There is a need of psychiatric assessment, selection, and care possibilities in prison inmate populations.

Highlights

Global reports indicate an increase in mental illness and drug use in Arabic speaking countries, despite the general culture’s disapproval of the use of drugs (Arfken & Ahmed, 2016)
The most frequently reported symptoms were those captured by the paranoid ideation domain, such as symptoms of suspiciousness and distrust toward others and fear regarding the intentions of others, and by the obsessive-compulsiveness domain, such as symptoms of trouble remembering things or concentration, difficulty making decision and persistent thoughts of checking one’s actions
The results indicate that the “Drug dependence” group of prisoners reported a significantly higher level of General Severity Index (GSI) when compared to the “No drug dependence” group

Summary

Introduction

Global reports indicate an increase in mental illness and drug use in Arabic speaking countries, despite the general culture’s disapproval of the use of drugs (Arfken & Ahmed, 2016). This increase can be explained by a rapidly evolving society and overall modernization. There is an urgent need for published research regarding mental health and substance use in developing countries (Gaferi et al, 2013). Epidemiological studies on psychiatric disorders are relatively rare in developing countries, especially in Arab ones (Saxena et al, 2006). In Morocco, for instance, only a few studies have been focused on mental health. There are two describing the prevalence of mental disorders in the general population (Chabaud et al, 2017; Kadri et al, 2010), those exploring mental health profiles among high school students (Zarrouq et al, 2016; Zouini et al, 2019), and another two among incarcerated and delinquent population (Lahlou et al, 2010; Sfendla et al, 2018b)

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