Psychiatric Morbidity Among Long-Stay Male Convicted Prisoners

Abstract

Background: Numerous prisons worldwide have reported high rates of psychiatric illness. In a cross-sectional study of 414 incarcerated prisoners’ findings, shows that 92% were diagnosed with serious mental illness. Similarly, a retrospective study of 78 inmates found that 75% were having severe mental illness. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the mental health issues in long-stay convicted prisoners. Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional design conducted at Sabarmati Central Prison, Gujarat. A total of 30 convicted prisoners were assessed using the brief psychiatric rating scale using the purposive sampling method. Results: The findings showed that 28 (93.3%) convicted prisoners had mild level of guilt feelings, 17 (56.7%) had a mild depressive mood, and 7 (23.3%) had anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: Long-stay convicted prisoners require mental health assistance in terms of counselling and psychiatric medication, which helps in the reduction of repeat incarceration as well as improving psychological well-being.