Title
Prevalence of criminal thinking among state prison inmates with serious mental illness
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Psychiatry
Date
8-2010
Document Type
Article
Medical Subject Headings
Adult; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Prisoners; Psychological Tests
Disciplines
Health Services Research | Mental and Social Health | Psychiatric and Mental Health | Psychiatry | Psychiatry and Psychology
Abstract
To examine the prevalence of criminal thinking in mentally disordered offenders, incarcerated male (n = 265) and female (n = 149) offenders completed measures of psychiatric functioning and criminal thinking. Results indicated 92% of the participants were diagnosed with a serious mental illness, and mentally disordered offenders produced criminal thinking scores on the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) and Criminal Sentiments Scale-Modified (CSS-M) similar to that of non-mentally ill offenders. Collectively, results indicated the clinical presentation of mentally disordered offenders is similar to that of psychiatric patients and criminals. Implications are discussed with specific focus on the need for mental health professionals to treat co-occurring issues of mental illness and criminality in correctional mental health treatment programs.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: Law Hum Behav. 2010 Aug;34(4):324-36. Epub 2009 Jun 24. Link to article on publisher's site
