Open Access, Peer-reviewed
pISSN 1015-4817
eISSN 2289-0963
    J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2013 Nov;52(6):454-462. Korean.
    Published online Nov 30, 2013.
    https://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2013.52.6.454
    Copyright © 2013 Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
    Original Article

    Mental Health Status of Prisoners in Correctional Institutions

    Jong-Ik Park, MD, PhD, LLM,1,2,3 Young Ju Kim, MA,2 and Soo Jung Lee, MPH3
      • 1Department of Psychiatry, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
      • 2Department of Psychiatry, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon, Korea.
      • 3Korea Suicide Prevention Center, Seoul, Korea.
    • Address for correspondence: Jong-Ik Park, MD, PhD, LLM. Department of Psychiatry, Kangwon National University School of Medicine, 156 Baengnyeong-ro, Chuncheon 200-722, Korea. Tel +82-33-258-9171, Fax +82-33-254-1376, Email: lugar@kangwon.ac.kr
    Received September 11, 2013; Revised October 16, 2013; Accepted October 17, 2013.

    Abstract

    Objectives

    The aim of this study was to identify mental health state of prisoners in correctional institutions and to develop strategies for improvement of the environment related to it.

    Methods

    This research included a total of 1700 inmates from three out of 50 prisons nationwide; Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Korean Version of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, and cut down, annoy, guilty, eye-opener were applied. Additional questionnaires were employed for investigation of inmates' experience of violence within the correctional facilities and to examine utilization of mental health service before and after their admission to correctional facilities.

    Results

    Fifteen percent of the participants attained SCL-90-R T-scores of 65 or higher, which suggested that these individuals had, or were at great risk of, mental illness. As the level of anger felt by the prisoners turned out to be lower than expected, BDI scores of 22 and higher were observed in 28.1% of the inmates, and 33.6% of the prisoners had suicidal ideation. In addition, 39.1% of the total inmates were diagnosed with alcohol abuse. Twenty-one percent of the prisoners were victimized in their correctional institutions; therefore, violence may be one of the potential factors leading to stress. However, only a small percentage of the inmates requested and received counseling as a help.

    Conclusion

    Mental health state among prisoners was serious and undesirable. This finding emphasizes the dire need for a system for regular assessment and improvement.

    Keywords
    Correctional institution; Prisoner; Mental health

    Tables

    Table 1
    Sociodemographic distribution of prisoners

    Table 2
    Means and standard deviations (SDs) of SCL-90-R and proportions of prisoners with mental health problems in male and female prisoners

    Table 3
    Means and standard deviations (SDs) of STAXI-K in male and female prisoners

    Table 4
    Means and standard deviations (SDs) of BDI, K-BSI, and numbers of higher than cut-off scores in BDI and of suicide-related behaviors in K-BSI among prisoners

    Table 5
    Frequency of experience about violence in defenders and offenders in prison

    Table 6
    Frequency of psychiatric service use experience before and after imprisonment

    Notes

    The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

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    MeSH Terms
    Alcoholism
    Anger
    Counseling
    Depression
    Humans
    Mental Health Services
    Mental Health*
    Prisoners*
    Prisons*
    Suicidal Ideation
    Suicide
    Surveys and Questionnaires
    Violence
    Metrics
    Share
    Tables
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