Please respond to the following psych stats question in the following way
• Ask a probing question.
• Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
• Offer and support an opinion.
• Validate an idea with your own experience.
• Make a suggestion.
• Expand on your colleague’s posting.
APA, 400 words, one cite.
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In the research study titled Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in New Zealand prisons: A national study, the authors Brinded, Simpson, Laidlaw, Fairley and Malcolm (2001) review how widespread the presence of mental health issues in New Zealand prisons are. All female prisoners, all males that were in the New Zealand justice system as either on bail or in custody, and 18% of all males that were sentenced and in prison. The 18% of selected males were chosen randomly by number tables and then categorized by severity of their charge, due to the more severe the charge the higher probability that a mental illness is prevalent. Interviews were then given with informed consent, demographic data collection, the diagnostic interview for mental illness (CIDI-A), screening diagnostic interview for relevant personality disorders (PDQ 4+), and questions about suicide and suicidal thoughts. The CIDI-A was then scored using the DSM-IV for comparison and identification for mental disorders (Brinded, Simpson, Laidlaw, Fairley & Malcolm, 2001).
This study found that there are great many prisoners with mental health disorders in the New Zealand prisons including, but not limited to, substance abuse, major depression, bi-polar disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. This study also found that while a large number (80.8%) of patients with bi-polar disorder are receiving treatment and less than half of patients with other mental disorders are receiving treatment, not all inmates receive treatment for the mental health disorders while incarcerated in the prison system in New Zealand (Brinded, Simpson, Laidlaw, Fairley & Malcolm, 2001).
I feel that the most important part of this study is not that there are many inmates with mental disabilities in the prison system of New Zealand, but that there are many prisoners that go untreated for their mental condition. This information can be used to show the vast numbers of inmates that are suffering with their mental health. It could also be used to strengthen the idea that more programs and treatment options are needed for inmates. If the treatment options are expanded for inmates, then the possibility of suicide among inmates could be reduced (Brinded, Simpson, Laidlaw, Fairley & Malcolm, 2001).
Brinded, P., Simpson, A., Laidlaw, T., Fairley, N., & Malcolm, F. (2001, April). Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in New Zealand prisons: A national study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 35(2), pp. 166-173.
Ax, R. K., Fagan, T. J., Magaletta, P. R., Morgan, R. D., Nussbaum, D., & White, T. W. (2007). Innovations in correctional assessment and treatment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(7), 893–905
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