GALVESTON — Inmates with a major mental illness are more likely to be incarcerated repeatedly, according to a study by Jacques Baillargeon, an epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
The findings are the result of a yearlong study of 79,000 offenders within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, one of the nation’s largest state prison systems.
Baillargeon said about 8,000 offenders were diagnosed with major psychiatric disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or nonschizophrenia psychotic. In almost all cases, the odds of multiple incarcerations increased. Inmates with bipolar disorder were more than three times as likely to have had four or more prior incarcerations since 2000, compared to inmates with no mental illness.
“To reduce the cycle of repeat imprisonment for people with severe mental illness, we should consider a number of interventions, including alternative correctional facilities with appropriate clinical care for psychiatric illness,” Baillargeon said.
The findings will be published in December’s American Journal of Psychiatry, http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/pap.dtl.
Other authors include Ingrid Binswanger, J.V. Penn, B.A. Williams and Dr. Owen Murray.
