Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #9 - Management and Treatment of the Mentally Ill and Mentally Unwell in Corrections (ACJ9-A002)

Correctional facilities hold a disproportioned percentage of society’s mentally ill. Research also shows that incarcerated individuals afflicted with mental health disorders are more likely to be charged with prison infractions and to serve longer periods of incarceration. Despite deeply rooted stereotypes, the research is mixed, however, on whether mental illness is a risk factor for criminal behavior. Yet, individuals with mental health problems tend to fare worse in criminal justice risk assessments. This study specifically addresses the role that mental health risk factors used in correctional assessment instruments play in explaining prisoner performance upon release in the community. The research draws on rich empirical data on a large sample of persons released from prisons in Pennsylvania, United States, followed for a period of two and a half years to record two main recidivism outcomes: re-arrest for any crime and re-arrest for violent crime. The main data were provided by the Department of Corrections and the Parole Board. The analyses tested for both direct and indirect effects of mental health factors on parolee performance upon release. These factors were derived from the risk instruments employed by the correctional agencies providing the data. Other risk factors usually considered in the prediction of recidivism literature (e.g., prior criminal history) were used for control purposes. Among the eleven mental health factors tested, only a couple significantly predicted the reoccurrence of arrest, but only in the presence of other predictors of re-arrest, which fully mediated the impact of the mental health factors.

 

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