The use and readability of mental health self-help in Scottish prisons

Prisoners are at higher risk of mental health problems than people in the general community. One possible way of optimising mental health care resources in prisons is to offer self-help materials. In order for these to be effective, they must be appropriate for the reading ability of the patient. This study aimed to determine, by way of a survey distributed to Scottish mental health care teams, how self-help resources are being used currently in the Scottish prison system, and to analyse the materials using four different readability tools: FRE, FKGL, SMOG and the Drivel Defence programme. It was found that there is currently widespread provision of self-help to Scottish prisoners; however, only 53% of these materials are suitable for the quoted average prisoner reading age. Mental health practitioners should be aware of this when providing self-help to patients, and consider easy-read options where available.     

Music therapy for improving mental health problems of offenders in correctional settings: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives

The aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of music therapy on improving the mental health of offenders in correctional settings.

Methods

Multiple databases and journals were searched to identify randomized controlled trials and quasi-randomized controlled trials of music therapy for offenders in correctional settings.

Results

Five studies (n?=?409; predominantly male) were included in random-effects meta-analyses. Music therapy was effective for promoting offenders’ self-esteem (Hedges’ g?=?0.55, p?<?0.001) and social functioning (g?=?0.35, p?<?0.05). Effects on anxiety and depression depended on the number of sessions. For both outcomes, the studies with 20 or more sessions had larger effects than the study that had fewer than 20 sessions, and this difference was statistically significant (Q?=?11.88, df?=?1, p?<?0.001, anxiety; Q?=?9.16, df?=?1, p?=?0.002, depression). No significant effects were found on behavior management or between different music therapy approaches.

Conclusions

Music therapy may be helpful for offenders to improve mental health. Future studies should consider including offenders of both genders, using larger sample sizes, and examining long-term effects. Publication bias may be an issue for this review given the small number of studies and the small sample sizes.

     

A model process for forensic mental health screening and evaluation

This article describes an operational definition and a model process for forensic mental health examinations developed on the bases of field research, reviews of literature and other documentary materials, and a survey of forensic mental health programs. Forensic mental health screening and evaluation is defined as the process conducted by mental health personnel, at the direction of criminal justice authorities, for the purposes of delineating, acquiring, and providing information about the mental condition of client-offenders that is useful in decision making in the criminal justice system. The proposed model encompasses 14 pragmatically oriented steps within three major structural components of the examination process—delineation, acquisition, and provision—in a manner that places the entire process in the functional context of the criminal justice and mental health systems. The definition and model are aimed at practitioners, program evaluators, and policy makers to be used as a starting point for the establishment of standards against which the practices and policies relating to forensic mental health screening and evaluation can be compared and improved.The preparation of this article was supported in part by a grant (No. 79-NI-AX-0070) by the National Institute of Justice. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the National Institute of Justice or the National Center for State Courts. The author thanks his colleagues for their assistance and advice during the study upon which this article is based, as well their critical reviews of earlier documents related to this work. The comments and suggestions of Amiran Elwork and an anonymous reviewer are also gratefully acknowledged.     

Prisoners’ perceptions of correctional officers’ behavior in English and Dutch prisons

Purpose

In light of the mounting research on the “new punitiveness”, an important but largely unanswered question is the extent to which a country's penal policies and punitive sentiments are actually reflected in prisoners’ experiences. The aim of the current study is to examine how prisoners perceive correctional officers’ behavior in English and in Dutch prisons.

Methods

A cross-sectional design was used, in which we conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 Dutch prisoners incarcerated in England and 25 English prisoners incarcerated in the Netherlands. The interview schedule covered a number of topics addressing divergent aspects of life in prison, including staff-prisoner relationships.

Results

In English prisons, despite the ostensible efforts to improve prison life, the attitude is more confrontational, staff-prisoner relationships are more detached, and staff members seem more unresponsive and more inclined to punish. In Dutch prisons, where responsibilization and a market orientation have supposedly replaced rehabilitation, staff is perceived as more helpful and fair, and interactions with Dutch staff are more informal and less authoritarian.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that penal policy and increasingly punitive sentiments in society are not necessarily mirrored in the practice of prisons, and concomitantly, in prisoners’ perceptions of correctional officers’ behavior.     

Psychosocial work environment, interpersonal violence at work and mental health among correctional officers

The main purpose of this study was to present changes occurring between 2002 and 2004 in the prevalence of psychosocial constraints and interpersonal violence at work among officers working in correctional facilities in Quebec. Results suggest that in the absence of specific organizational intervention aimed at improving a deleterious work situation, exposure to low decision latitude remained similar between 2002 and 2004, while exposure to high psychological demands improved somewhat, for both men and women. In 2000, rates of exposure of correctional officers in Quebec to high psychological demands, low decision latitude and the combination of high psychological demands and low decision latitude (job strain) were significantly higher than those obtained for the entire population of workers in Quebec in contact with the public. Exposure of correctional officers in Quebec to intimidation at work increased substantially between 2002 and 2004, among both men and women. Globally speaking, rates of exposure to intimidation by colleagues and superiors practically doubled between 2000 and 2004. Rates of exposure to intimidation among correctional officers in Quebec were particularly high in 2004 (71% among men 66% among women) compared to rates in another study conducted among federal correctional officers (48%) by Samak. The present study also showed that in 2004, correctional officers in Quebec were more likely to present signs of psychological distress linked with work when they were exposed to high psychological demands, low decision latitude, job strain and poor social support from superiors and colleagues. Psychological distress was also shown to be greater when reward at work was scarce and when there was an imbalance between effort and reward at work. Finally, in 2004, psychological distress among correctional officers was also associated with intimidation and psychological harassment at work.     

Compulsory mental health care in Norway: The treatment criterion

The Norwegian government has chosen to retain a treatment criterion in the Mental Health Care Act despite the opposition of several user organizations. From a critical user perspective, the only reason for using coercion to require mental health treatment is that the individuals are in a state where they are an immediate danger to themselves and/or their surroundings. This articles aims, first, to provide an overview of research studies concerning the benefits or harmfulness of involuntary treatment after coerced admission and, second, to evaluate studies that try to compare involuntary with voluntary treatment. A systematic overview of studies of compulsory mental health care with regard to treatment criteria, coercion in mental health, and involuntary admission published over the last decade was examined in detail, along with a secondary manual search of references cited in identified publications. Few studies have been conducted on the effect of compulsory mental health care, and the results have been contradictory. More randomized studies are needed to document the kinds of effects that the use of compulsory treatment has on treatment results. Another issue that needs further examination is whether the use of coercion should be transferred to legal bodies with an adjudicatory process.     

Does the job matter? Comparing correlates of stress among treatment and correctional staff in prisons

The wealth of literature on stress in the correctional workplace focused on correctional officers, frequently ignoring treatment personnel employed in these same institutions. This study advanced the literature on correctional workplace stress by: (1) testing for differences in workplace stress between correctional officers and treatment personnel, (2) examining personal and environmental factors to determine whether distinct precursors to stress existed for these two groups, and (3) utilizing multiple measures of stress. Self-report survey data from 3,794 employees in ten adult prisons in a southwestern state demonstrated that both groups of employees reported moderately high levels of job stress and stress-related health concerns. Apart from perceptions of safety, sources of stress as well as protective factors against stress were similar for both groups with environmental factors demonstrating the most robust impact.     

Prevalence and screening of mental disorders in short-term correctional facilities

A majority of people incarcerated in correctional facilities have been affected by mental problems at least once in their lifetime. Among them, 12 to 25% suffer from severe and persistent mental disorders at the time of admission. Certain “profiles” are more likely to be detected than others. This is why the main objectives of this research are to establish, in both male and female offenders admitted in short-term detention facilities, the rate of those who have received medical diagnoses of mental disorders, the rate of screening for “mental health problems” at admission and the psychiatric diagnoses (last five years) most strongly associated with a positive screening. Using computerized medical and prison files, it can be established that 61% of the 671 offenders sent to a short-term correctional facility received, during 2002–2007, at least one diagnosis for mental disorder. A total of 227 subjects (33.8%) obtained a positive score to the indicator of mental health problem.” In the case of men, correctional services workers identified as mental health problems: psychotic disorders, adjustment reactions, «neurotic»/anxiety disorders, being coupled to drug dependence. Positively detected women tend to exhibit problems of anxiety, personality disorder and substance related disorders. This study highlights, the difficulties faced by correctional services workers in detecting recent depressive disorders both in men and women offenders and also difficulties to detect recent affective psychoses.     

A tale of two cultures: examining patient-centered care in a forensic mental health hospital

Several questions remain unanswered regarding the extent to which the principles and practices of patient-centered care are achievable in the context of a forensic mental health hospital. This study examined patient-centered care from the perspectives of patients and providers in a forensic mental health hospital. Patient-centered care was assessed using several measures of complementary constructs. Interviews were conducted with 30 patients and surveys were completed by 28 service providers in a forensic mental health hospital. Patients and providers shared similar views of the therapeutic milieu and recovery orientation of services; however, providers were more likely to perceive the hospital as being potentially unsafe. Overall, the findings indicated that characteristics of patient-centered care may be found within a forensic mental health hospital. The principles of patient-centered care can be integrated into service delivery in forensic mental health hospitals, though special attention to providers' perceptions of safety is needed.