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Lifetime risk and correlates of incarceration in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults with non-substance-related mental illness

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

High rates of psychiatric disorders in correctional facilities have fueled widespread concern about the “criminalization of mental illness.” While the link between incarceration, substance abuse, and antisocial-personality disorder is well established, the relationship between non-substance-related psychiatric disorders and incarceration has not been thoroughly investigated. This study examines the association of mental illness, excluding substance use disorders, with risk for incarceration in US adults.

Methods

Nationally representative data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) were used to compare the proportions of respondents with lifetime incarceration among those with no lifetime history of DSM-5 disorders, or with lifetime history of mental illness, substance use disorders, dual diagnosis, and antisocial personality/conduct disorder. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the independent association of incarceration with mental illness alone, both in comparison to and net of associations with sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics.

Results

Among adults with mental illness alone, 6.7% reported past incarceration, compared to 4.8% with no history of DSM-5 disorders, and 20–40% in other DSM-5 diagnostic groups. Sociodemographic and behavioral risk factors were more strongly associated with incarceration (c-statistics = 0.74 and 0.77, respectively), than mental illness (c-statistic = 0.56). Schizophrenia or other psychoses and borderline personality disorder were independently associated with incarceration, but with effect sizes no greater than eight other sociodemographic or behavioral risk factors.

Conclusion

A weak association of mental illness alone with incarceration was found, despite high level of public attention to “criminalization of mental illness.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Marina Nakic, Elina A. Stefanovics, Taeho Greg Rhee & Robert A. Rosenheck

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  1. Marina Nakic
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  2. Elina A. Stefanovics
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  3. Taeho Greg Rhee
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  4. Robert A. Rosenheck
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Correspondence to Marina Nakic.

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The current study was approved by the IRBs of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Yale School of Medicine.

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Nakic, M., Stefanovics, E.A., Rhee, T.G. et al. Lifetime risk and correlates of incarceration in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults with non-substance-related mental illness. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 57, 1839–1847 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02158-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02158-x

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