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MentallyIllPrevalenceinPrisonsandJails11.docxRunning head: RESEARCH PAPER 1
RESEARCH PAPER 6
Mentally Ill Prevalence in Prisons and Jails
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Abstract
The number of mentally challenged inmates in American prisons and jails have been determined to be large as compared to the number of mentally challenged patients in the psychiatrist hospitals in the United States of America. Previous studies as indicated in this research shows that indeed the number has increased over the last decade with inmates of such challenges facing myriad challenges while in the prison as compared to the normal inmates. Therefore, this people seeks to study the reasons behind such case being on the increase in the United States of America.
The paper also clarifies the need for appropriate measures being put in place in order to ensure that the condition can be curbed down. This is determined by conducting a survey in the American prisons and jails so as to come up with raw data which indicates firsthand information for such scenarios. The preventative measures that have been tried to help alleviate the situation are also discussed so that the current study can easily determine the most appropriate method that is yet to be tasted in this case and is perceived to be the most effective tool in solving these problems.
Therefore, in order to get the data required in this study, we are going to use various methods in the collection and analyzing the data. For instance, we are going to use both closed and open-ended questionnaires in order to get the required data. In addition, there shall also be the use of emails for the prison authorities who might not be found physically. Finally, there shall be the computation of the data of collected which shall then be analyzed and put into charts and tables for easy analysis and decision making by the relevant authorities. As such, this is an entire research paper that seeks to understand the reasons behind huge numbers of mentally challenged inmates and the challenges they face as inmates in American prisons.
Mentally Ill Prevalence in Prisons and Jails
Introduction
The escalating number of inmates with mental challenges calls for something to be done in order to change the situation before it becomes worse. This is because according to the survey done in 2009 a jail or prison in 44 states of America holds a number of inmates who face mental challenges than the number of patients in the still surviving psychiatrist hospitals in such states. A large number of such cases and its ratio with those in the hospitals raises eyebrows that indeed there is something wrong in the society that needs to be corrected before it escalates into worse condition beyond repair.
Therefore, this paper seeks to help solve these issues in society. This is because upon considering the situation at hand the number of mentally challenged inmates has really increased. The increase also comes with effects as the previous studies indicate. For instance, the demands for the inmates who are mentally challenged is high thus making the facilities to incur some extra costs in order to accommodate such people in the facility. Besides that, the high cases of suicide in the prisons and jails have also been attributed to the inmates facing mental challenges. They are also bound to stay in the prisons longer as in most cases they are not even aware of where they are and what led them to be there thus becoming a huge challenge to solve these cases.
In this regard, one would wonder what makes the authorities not to take these people into the right facilities rather than the prisons and the jails as its. These are some of the questions that this research paper seeks to establish and set out to solve this puzzle in the society by making appropriate decisions that should be made by the authorities before imprisoning and jailing the mentally challenged individuals.
Therefore, the current study aims to show the correlation between the effects and challenges that the inmates with mentally challenges face with the facilities management and the most appropriate method to help them. As such, this study seeks to come up with an alternative method that can be used as correction measures to the mentally challenged individuals rather than inflicting more pain unto them and creating for them an environment that can help solve their mental issues.
Literature Review
The prevalence of mentally ill challenged prisoners and those in jails in the United States as well be documented by numerous researches in the past. However, the effects and the challenges that these inmates face while in the prisons and jails have not been well researched and documented. Besides that, there is also limited information on the measures that are put in place in order to ensure that they easily transition from being mentally challenged individuals into useful people in the society when they get released after the end of their period in the prison.
For instance, (Prins, 2014) in his systematic review showed that there is an over-representation of the American people with mental challenges in the prisons. The study showed that the number of the mentally challenged individuals in the prisons was on the rise with no proper prevention measures being put in place in order to ensure that these people find proper medication. Therefore, this shows that indeed there is a role to be played by those in power in recognizing the group and the appropriate measures being taken.
Additionally, (Prins, 2014) states that the issue of high prevalence of mentally challenged individuals being found in the prisons more than the psychiatrist hospitals available is an area that is largely caused by the judiciary. This is because when the judge is making a final verdict before sending a suspect into a prison he/she should ascertain if indeed the victim has a normal functioning head. However, he is quick to add that there is also some possibility that the some of the victims had become mentally challenged out of frustration life they led at the prison without their family members to take care of them.
In summary, this research concluded that there was indeed wide variation in terms of the findings due to the differences in the definition of mental illness, methods used in the determination of this illness and the general public health care. Therefore, (Prins, 2014) showed that despite the fact there were cases of mental illness in the prisons and jails the confusion created in definition of the mental illness among the general public and the authority made the research not to come up with a true reflection of what impacts the increase in number of mentally challenged individuals had caused to the facilities and the nation at large.
Fazel et al, 2016, studied the mental health of the prisoners, the prevalence, adverse outcomes and the most probable interventions that could be employed to help save the situation. They stated that general more ten million people are imprisoned worldwide with the number of mentally challenged individuals in prison is higher in prisons than those in the public. These statistics show that indeed there is something wrong in society. This is despite the fact there are also instances of those who became mentally ill while already imprisoned.
The study also showed that there are effects accompanied by having a high number of mentally challenged prisoners than in the public. For instance, there is an increase in budget allocation as people with such cases had high complications and required intensive care in order to avoid causing catastrophes within the facilities. Additionally, as a result of their medical condition, most of these prisoners were kept in solitary cells in order to avoid being victimized, bitten or bullied by other inmates. In other worse cases, these mentally challenged prisoners were also a threat to the wellbeing of the other prisoners.
In addition, Fazel et al, 2016 in their study showed that the cost of maintaining a mentally challenged prisoner is high when compared with that of a normal prisoner. For the case of mentally challenged prisoners, they required more staffing than the normal prisoners. They were also susceptible to committing suicide than the normal prisoners hence the need to be checked frequently. However, they also suggested that there should be medication process taking place in order to ensure that the situation is handled timely before it becomes worse.
These authors also showed that the most commonly used mode of treatment is the use of opiates substitution methods that were used to reduce the level of substance use among the prisoners. However, there is minimal evidence that supports these claims by the authors showing the reduction of mentally challenged prisoners whenever opiates were used. In addition, the authors states that for the case of women and aging prisoners there is need for the federal government to look into the matter and help these group from the worse conditions in the prison as these conditions are most likely to make their condition worse thus leading to depression and cases of suicide among such groups.
Additionally, (Peters, Wexler & Lurigio, 2015) in their study co-occurring substance use and mental disorders in the criminal justice system they showed that there is something behind the rise in the number of mentally challenged prisoners in the American jails and prisons. In this case, they argued that the number was rapidly increasing due to the fact that there was an increase in the number of substance use among the inmates. Substance use coupled with stress and inadequate medical care led to the cases of mental disorder is prevalent in the prisons and jails.
The study also involved conducting a survey on the chairpersons of departments in the judiciary system so that they could all relate the major cause of these cases in the prisons. The results showed that there might be some truth with the cases of substance use leading to mental challenges but one key fact that should not be locked out is that some of these prisoners might have had a history of mental illness and it might have only gotten worse upon being convicted. Therefore, there is a need to consider all these factors before making a conclusion on what really is the cause of the escalating number of mentally ill inmates in America prisons than they are in mental hospitals.
The study done by (Haney, 2017) about the madness and penal confinement also questions on the high number of mentally challenged persons being in prisons rather than mental hospitals. This study shows that the pain and isolation that prisoners face while in prison may also be playing a role in their madness.
Therefore, the researcher calls for alternative methods that can be used to correct individuals that are proved to be guilty and at the same time mentally challenged. This is because imprisoning them won’t solve any issue as rather it would complicate the matter and make it worse for the mentally challenged prisoners.
For instance, (Haney, 2017) states that there are better options that can be used rather placing these people in cells and sometimes in solitary cells due to their behavioral disturbances. The cells have more painful experiences that cannot help solve the issue of mental illness among the inmates. As such, the mental hospitals in each state should be called into action and appropriate treatment measures are put in place on the route to help solve the situation.
Additionally, (Young et al, 2015) also researched on the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among the incarcerated population. The researchers’ main objective was to determine the prevalence of ADHD in this group in society. As a result, the study shows that there is a high prevalence of ADHD among the prisoners which calls for better methods to help solve the issue.
In this case, the researchers call for the authorities to ensure that they conduct a mental test for all the new inmates so that they can be put under the right medical care as fast as possible. Besides that, these early tests shall also ensure that mentally challenged prisoners are isolated and put into the corrective measures rather than being isolated into solitary cells. Therefore, these researchers emphasized the tests being conducted as fast as possible in order to pave way for easy solving of the problem at hand.
Research Question
The previous research has shown a close relationship between the mental illness among the inmates with the improper judicial system that does not take care of what kind of people are being imprisoned. However, there is limited information on the effects that the mentally challenged individuals go through while in the prison. There is also limited information on the most appropriate methods that can be used in helping save the situation from becoming worse.
Therefore, there is need to bridge the gap that exists between these two formalities, the need to understand the causes, effects and the most appropriate method that can be used in the determination of the mentally challenged prisoners and place them under proper medical care.
As such, the present study answers the questions: Does mentally ill prevalence in prisons and jails have an impact on the facility? And more specifically the research will also dwell on the appropriate measures that should be put in place in order to ensure that such cases do not escalate beyond the measurable amount.
Significance of Study
The current study seeks to establish the main reason behind the high prevalence of mentally challenged cases in American prisons and jails. In particular, it’s also important to determine the reasons behind such insurgence in the number of mentally challenged inmates in comparison to the number found in psychiatrist hospitals in the states.
The study also seeks to determine the most appropriate method that can be used to help prevent the number from increasing. This is through bearing in mind the effects and impacts that the high number of mentally challenged patients in prisons cause the budget of the prison facilities to be strained according to the normal budgeting done for healthy inmates. The control measures are also sought to be established through this study so that in the end they can be an amicable solution to this malice that’s affecting the entire normal operation of the prisons.
Methods Used
The present study aims to establish the main cause of the prevalence of mentally challenged patients in the prisons more than the hospitals. Therefore, this shall require that we use both open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires in order to determine the correct answers for these cases. There shall also be the use of the emails that shall target persons of authority that might be found in the office easily so that we can receive their views and opinions on the issue involving the prevalence of mentally ill inmates in American cells.
The questionnaires will contain the reasons behind the study so that the respondents can easily understand the need for the research without having to ask lots of questions in order to participate in the study. In addition, confidentiality forms shall also be attached to the questionnaires so that the respondents can be assured of their anonymity and the right use of the information that they give.
The first question will address the cause of mental illness among the inmates. This shall trigger responses such as stress and substance use. There shall also be a relation of the cases of those inmates who were admitted while already mentally sick and those that have acquired the sickness while in the prison. This question shall be addressed to the inmates that are perceived to be normal. Similarly, the authorities shall also be asked this similar question in order to have the accurate data as they are the most likely people to have the recorded data upon the admission of an inmate.
The second question will address the effects and impacts that have been felt as a result of the increase in the number of the mentally challenged inmates in American prisons. This question will be addressed to both the inmates and the authorities. The impacts will have to be on the negative impact of the budget economically, and the social life of these mentally challenged people in the prisons.
Secondary sources shall also be used in the determination of the real facts about the prevalence of mentally ill persons in prisons. This shall be done by the use of search engines such as google scholar and PubMed which highlight the topics and areas of interest in this matter. The data obtained shall be used in the determination of facts as recorded by previous researchers in this area of concern.
Participants
The participants in this study will be basically the inmates in American cells. In order to have a clear representation of the data being researched, we shall have to obtain data from various prisons in different states of America. The data shall also be collected on the basis of gender-sensitive so that the data obtained can be a representative of both the male and female inmates in American cells.
Additionally, in order to also obtain accurate data and data that has been recorded in entry books of the prisons, we shall also consider the use of the authorities in various prisons in the provision of the critical data required in this study.
Analysis of the Data Collected
The data collected shall be measured and analyzed according to the appropriate methods available so that decisions can easily be made based on the data collected. In this case, the data shall be tabulated showing the relation between various causes of mental illness among the inmates and the most appropriate methods that can be used to help solve the issue.
The data collected will also be put into pie charts formed in percentages so that the percentage obtained is easily related to the effect caused and the method of solving the problem at hand. Conversely, the data collected will be compared with the previous studies in order to create a correlation with the previous studies done by other researchers.
References
Fazel, S., Hayes, A. J., Bartellas, K., Clerici, M., & Trestman, R. (2016). Mental health of prisoners: prevalence, adverse outcomes, and interventions. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(9), 871-881.
Haney, C. (2017). “Madness” and penal confinement: Some observations on mental illness and prison pain. Punishment & Society, 19(3), 310-326.
Peters, R. H., Wexler, H. K., & Lurigio, A. J. (2015). Co-occurring substance use and mental disorders in the criminal justice system: A new frontier of clinical practice and research.
Prins, S. J. (2014). Prevalence of mental illnesses in US state prisons: A systematic review. Psychiatric Services, 65(7), 862-872.
Young, S., Moss, D., Sedgwick, O., Fridman, M., & Hodgkins, P. (2015). A meta-analysis of the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in incarcerated populations. Psychological medicine, 45(2), 247-258.
