Description

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health brings together material relevant to the interface of psychiatry, psychology, crime and the law. It is primarily concerned with research papers on the causes of crime and delinquency, the treatment of mentally abnormal offenders, the police, the probation service, the courts, the legal process, and the social services. Discussion papers are also published from time to time. The journal is intended primarily for psychiatrists and psychologists who work with mentally abnormal offenders or violent patients, or who are engaged in research or teaching on crime or the criminal justice system. The journal will also interest lawyers, criminologists, sociologists and other social scientists.

Publisher details

John Wiley & Sons

Publications in this journal

• A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention.

  Authors: Brian B Boutwell, Kevin M Beaver

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(1):59-74.

  BACKGROUND: One of the more influential criminological theories advanced in recent years is Moffitt's developmental taxonomy. A line of research has tested the core propositions from her theoryBACKGROUND: One of the more influential criminological theories advanced in recent years is Moffitt's developmental taxonomy. A line of research has tested the core propositions from her theory regarding the causes of life-course persistent offenders and the causes of adolescence-limited offenders, but very little research has investigated whether Moffitt's explanation of delinquency abstention is supported empirically. AIM: To examine the biosocial correlates of delinquency abstention. METHOD: We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effects of two dopamine receptor genes (the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) and the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4)), drug-using peers, neighbourhood problems, low self-control, public assistance, age, race, and gender on delinquency abstention. The statistical models were calculated by employing binary logistic regression. RESULTS: Analysis of the Add Health data revealed that exposure to drug-using peers and levels of self-control were associated with abstention from delinquency. In addition, there was some evidence suggesting that DRD2 and DRD4 had protective effects against delinquent involvement for males. CONCLUSION: A multifactorial arrangement of environmental and genetic factors contributes to delinquency abstention.

• EssenCES, a short questionnaire for assessing the social climate of forensic psychiatric wards.

  Authors: Norbert Schalast, Mirja Redies, Mick Collins, Jacqueline Stacey, Kevin Howells

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(1):49-58.

  BACKGROUND: A supportive ward atmosphere is considered by many to be a precondition for successful treatment in forensic psychiatry, but there is a clear need for a valid and economic climateBACKGROUND: A supportive ward atmosphere is considered by many to be a precondition for successful treatment in forensic psychiatry, but there is a clear need for a valid and economic climate evaluation instrument. AIMS: To validate a short questionnaire, designed for assessing forensic psychiatric wards. Climate dimensions measured with the 'Essen Climate Evaluation Schema' (EssenCES) are 'Therapeutic Hold', 'Patients' Cohesion and Mutual Support' and 'Safety' (versus threat of aggression and violence). METHOD: In 17 forensic mental hospitals in Germany, patients and staff completed the EssenCES and other questionnaires. Problematic events were recorded over a period of 3 weeks on each ward. RESULTS: The anticipated three factor structure of the instrument was confirmed. The pattern of correlations also provided support for the validity of the subscales. CONCLUSIONS: The climate questionnaire is an economic and valid instrument for assessing the ward atmosphere in forensic psychiatry. Findings from a pilot study in England give confidence to the structural validity of the English version too.

• A future for forensic psychiatry - if not faith, then what?

  Authors: Pamela J Taylor

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(1):21-6.

• Rehabilitating the therapeutic ideal.

  Authors: Alec Buchanan

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(1):14-7.

• A combined drama-based and CBT approach to working with self-reported anger aggression.

  Authors: Janine Blacker, Andy Watson, Anthony R Beech

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(2):129-37.

  BACKGROUND: A drama-based programme, called 'Insult to Injury', was designed to explore the processes of anger, aggression and violence. The aim of the programme was to enable offenders to identifyBACKGROUND: A drama-based programme, called 'Insult to Injury', was designed to explore the processes of anger, aggression and violence. The aim of the programme was to enable offenders to identify and generate strategies and skills for dealing with potentially volatile situations, and to provide a safe and supportive environment in which to practice and evaluate these strategies. AIMS An active drama-based approach combined with cognitive-behavioural techniques was used to explore issues such as masculinity, power and control, pride and shame and victim awareness. Reductions in anger were hypothesized. METHOD A single group pre/post design assessed the levels of anger before and after the course. RESULTS Sixty-two adult male offenders from six prison establishments in the UK took part in the nine-day course. As hypothesised, significant reductions in anger were found in pre- to post-course assessment. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a drama-based approach may be a promising adjunct to traditional anger management programmes for violent offenders.

• Specificity of cognitive distortions to antisocial behaviours.

  Authors: Alvaro Q Barriga, Mark A Hawkins, Carl R T Camelia

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(2):104-16.

  INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: Cognitive distortions have long been posited to facilitate antisocial behaviours, but the specificity of such distortions has rarely been studied. AIMS: To replicate findingsINTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: Cognitive distortions have long been posited to facilitate antisocial behaviours, but the specificity of such distortions has rarely been studied. AIMS: To replicate findings of specificity between particular cognitions and externalizing or internalizing behaviours; to test for specificity of relationship between particular cognitions and different types of externalizing behaviours. METHODS: The participants were 239 male youths aged 10 to 19 years (mean (M) = 14.22, standard deviation (SD) = 1.64) from schools on the island of Curaçao. Their cognitive distortions and problem behaviours were investigated through self-report.Results In controlled analyses, self-serving cognitive distortions were associated with externalizing behaviours whereas self-debasing cognitive distortions were associated with internalizing behaviours. Within the externalizing domain, self-serving distortions with overt behavioural referents were linked to aggressive behaviour while self-serving distortions with covert behavioural referents were linked to delinquent behaviour. Within the aggression domain, distortions with opposition-defiance referents related to verbal aggression whereas distortions with physical aggression referents related to physically aggressive behaviour. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The degree of cognitive-behavioural specificity documented by this study was remarkable. The observed pattern suggests that cognitive interventions designed for externalizing versus internalizing behaviours should differ in therapeutic approach.

• The treatment of paraphilias: an historical perspective.

  Authors: Harvey Gordon

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(2):79-87.

• Are psychiatrists affecting the legal process by answering legal questions?

  Authors: Timothy Hardie, Susan Elcock, R D Mackay

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(2):117-28.

  BACKGROUND: Psychiatrists are often asked to answer legal questions. The extent to which they answer strictly legal rather than medical matters is not known. AIM: To investigate how stronglyBACKGROUND: Psychiatrists are often asked to answer legal questions. The extent to which they answer strictly legal rather than medical matters is not known. AIM: To investigate how strongly psychiatrists in England and Wales express opinions on one legal question - that of diminished responsibility in respect of a murder charge, and how this is related to outcome in court. METHOD Our data were extracted from psychiatric reports and case files supplied by the then Department of Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry of Justice) on cases heard in the Crown Courts between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2001 in which the defence of diminished responsibility had been raised. The cases had been selected by the Law Commission in their earlier review of partial defences to murder. We devised a reliable system of rating the presence/absence and strength of expression of a legal opinion in the medical reports. We tested the data for relationship between nature and strength of opinion and progression to trial and verdict. RESULTS Psychiatric reports were available on 143 of 156 cases in which diminished responsibility was considered. They yielded 338 opinions on at least one aspect of diminished responsibility. In 110 (93%) of the 118 cases in which there was a diminished verdict, this was made without trial and, therefore, without reference to a jury. In only eight (27%) out of the 30 cases that went to trial, was a diminished responsibility verdict made. Half of the reports (169) gave a clear opinion on diminished responsibility, a third (121) invited the court to draw a particular conclusion and only 11% (36) provided relevant evidence without answering the legal questions. When there was an opinion or an invitation to make a finding on the legal question, a trial was less likely. A trial was also less likely if reports agreed on what the verdict should be. CONCLUSIONS Psychiatrists frequently answer the legal question of diminished responsibility. The judiciary and medical experts should join in research to examine the consequences of different styles or approaches in presentation of essentially similar evidence in court.

• Homelessness in the state and federal prison population.

  Authors: Greg A Greenberg, Robert A Rosenheck

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(2):88-103.

  AIMS: This study sought to investigate the rates and correlates of homelessness (i.e. living on the street or in a homeless shelter), including mental illness, among US adult state and federal prisonAIMS: This study sought to investigate the rates and correlates of homelessness (i.e. living on the street or in a homeless shelter), including mental illness, among US adult state and federal prison inmates (ASFPIs). METHOD: Data from a national survey of ASFPIs based on a random sampling survey (N = 17,565) were used to compare the homelessness rate among AFSPIs with that in the general population. Logistic regression was then used to examine the association of homelessness among ASFPIs with factors including symptoms, treatment of mental illness, previous criminal justice involvement, specific crimes, and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Nine percent of ASFPIs reported an episode of homelessness in the year prior to arrest, 4-6 times the estimated rate in the general US adult population after allowing for age, race/ethnicity, and gender. In comparison to other inmates, these homeless inmates were more likely to be currently incarcerated for a property crime, but also to have had previous criminal justice system involvement for both property and violent crimes, to suffer from mental health and/or substance abuse problems, and to be more likely to have been unemployed and with a low income. CONCLUSIONS: Recent homelessness is far more common among ASFPIs than the general population. Prior incarceration, mental illness, substance abuse and disadvantageous socio-demographic characteristics were all found to be associated with homelessness among prison inmates, suggesting that there are several important factors in addition to efforts to survive with limited resources through criminal acts that influence the rates of homelessness among incarcerated individuals.

• Usefulness of the CANFOR-S for measuring needs among mentally disordered offenders resident in medium or low secure hospital services in the UK: a pilot evaluation.

  Authors: Clive G Long, Paula Webster, Jo Waine, Jamilah Motala, Clive R Hollin

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(1):39-48.

  BACKGROUND: The short form of the forensic version of the Camberwell Assessment of Needs (CANFOR-S) (Thomas et al., 2003) is of potential value in all clinical forensic settings, but so far reportedBACKGROUND: The short form of the forensic version of the Camberwell Assessment of Needs (CANFOR-S) (Thomas et al., 2003) is of potential value in all clinical forensic settings, but so far reported mainly with high security hospital patients. AIMS: To conduct a pilot study of the feasibility of using the CANFOR-S in medium and low security hospital units and to report preliminary findings there. METHODS: Thirty-six of 38 patients on one medium secure ward for women, one low secure ward for women and one low secure ward for men, all in the same hospital, agreed to participate in the study. Staff and patients completed the CANFOR-S as part of a larger formal assessment package. RESULTS: All the women and 18 of the 20 men completed the CANFOR-S. It was found to be easy and quick (25 minutes) to use, and acceptable. Staff and patient ratings were similar on all but one item: needs with regard to safety to others, with staff consistently rating more. Men and women were similar in number of needs, but had different needs profiles. Those in medium security were generally more needy than those in low security. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The CANFOR-S is feasible for clinical practice, with results perceived as useful in treatment planning by patients and staff. More widespread use could improve service planning.

• The end of faith in forensic psychiatry.

  Authors: Adrian Grounds

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(1):1-13.

• Who stalks? A description of patients at a high security hospital with a history of stalking behaviour.

  Authors: Seán Whyte, Edward Petch, Catherine Penny, David Reiss

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(1):27-38.

  BACKGROUND: Knowledge about stalking, and in particular the people who do it, is limited in the UK. AIM: This study aims to describe a sample of stalkers drawn from the resident population ofBACKGROUND: Knowledge about stalking, and in particular the people who do it, is limited in the UK. AIM: This study aims to describe a sample of stalkers drawn from the resident population of Broadmoor high security hospital in the UK. METHODS: Case notes and research database information for 362 consecutive admissions were used to identify stalkers retrospectively. Data were extracted using a stalking behaviour screening checklist. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients (9.1%) were classified as stalkers. They were mostly male (28), young (median age 29), unmarried (30), minimally educated and unemployed. Most had psychosis and personality disorder. They had inflicted a wide range of unwanted intrusions and communications on their victims, and both threats (55%) and assaults (45%) were common. The types of stalkers were more or less equally split between intimacy seeking, rejected suitors, resentful and predatory, with only a tiny group being incompetent suitors. CONCLUSIONS: Although this small group of stalkers had been intrusive and attacking, few had been referred for treatment because of the stalking. The screening questionnaire is easy to use and can be done from records. It may be that such screening should become routine in specialist secure hospitals.

• Different memories.

  Authors: Anthony Maden

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 18(1):18-20.

• Theory of mind functioning in mentally disordered offenders detained in high security psychiatric care: its relationship to clinical outcome, need and risk.

  Authors: David Murphy

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(5):300-11.

  BACKGROUND: Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the cognitive mechanisms that allow us to infer our own mental states and those of others. Whilst ToM deficits are frequently observed among individualsBACKGROUND: Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the cognitive mechanisms that allow us to infer our own mental states and those of others. Whilst ToM deficits are frequently observed among individuals with schizophrenia, little is known about their relationship to functional outcome. AIMS: Among patients with schizophrenia in a high security hospital, to test whether ToM performance, in relation to other cognitive and clinical variables, is related to measures of subsequent clinical outcome. METHODS: ToM was assessed using the modified advanced test (MAT) and the revised eyes task (RET). Outcome, including ongoing need and risk, was assessed using the HoNOS secure, CANFOR and HCR-20 respectively three years post ToM assessment. RESULTS: Performance on the RET was the only variable to be significantly correlated with the symptom ratings of the HoNOS secure and the HCR-20 total scores. Performance on the RET also accounted for approximately half of the variance in the CANFOR ratings and a third in the risk management item ratings of the HCR-20. Age, number of years diagnosed with schizophrenia and other aspects of cognition were also significantly correlated with the HoNOS security scale. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that social perceptual ToM may be a useful prognostic indicator, but also that ToM impairments may represent an unmet need. Replication of the work with larger and more diverse samples of people with schizophrenia is necessary, as well as trials of therapeutic effort directed at improvement of ToM impairments.

• Inhibition deficits of serious delinquent boys of low intelligence.

  Authors: Roos Koolhof, Rolf Loeber, Evelyn H Wei, Dustin Pardini, Annematt Collot D'Escury

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(5):274-92.

  INTRODUCTION: Studies have shown that low intelligence (IQ) and delinquency are strongly associated. This study focuses on inhibitory deficits as the source for the association between low IQ andINTRODUCTION: Studies have shown that low intelligence (IQ) and delinquency are strongly associated. This study focuses on inhibitory deficits as the source for the association between low IQ and delinquency. Further, the authors explore whether serious delinquent boys with a low IQ are exposed to more risk factors than serious delinquent boys with an average to high IQ. They also examine the extent to which low IQ and higher IQ serious delinquents incurred contact with the juvenile court because of their delinquent behaviour. METHODS: Cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study were used to constitute four groups of boys: low IQ serious delinquents (n = 39), higher IQ serious delinquents (n = 149), low IQ non-to-moderate delinquents (n = 21) and higher IQ non-to-moderate delinquents (n = 219). RESULTS: Low IQ serious delinquents committed more delinquent acts than higher IQ serious offenders. Low IQ serious delinquent boys also exhibited the highest levels of cognitive and behavioural impulsivity. There were no differences between low IQ and higher IQ serious delinquents on measures of empathy and guilt feelings. Instead, elevations on these characteristics were associated with serious offenders as a whole. Compared with higher IQ serious delinquents, low IQ serious delinquents were exposed to more risk factors, such as low academic achievement, being old for grade, depressed mood and poor housing. CONCLUSIONS: Inhibition deficits appear important in the aetiology of delinquency, especially among low IQ boys. Serious delinquent boys are all impulsive, but the higher IQ serious delinquents seem to have a better cognitive control system. Interventions aimed at low IQ boys should focus on the remediation of behavioural impulsivity as well as cognitive impulsivity.

• Characteristics and predictors of self-mutilation: a study of incarcerated women.

  Authors: Dominique Roe-Sepowitz

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(5):312-21.

  BACKGROUND: Research on self-mutilating behaviour and incarcerated adults has found that nearly 50% of people in prison participated in it (Holley and Alborleda-Florez, 1988). This is an enormousBACKGROUND: Research on self-mutilating behaviour and incarcerated adults has found that nearly 50% of people in prison participated in it (Holley and Alborleda-Florez, 1988). This is an enormous liability for the criminal justice system as well as a human concern. AIMS/HYPOTHESES: The research question for this study was to explore whether a history of childhood abuse in a sample of incarcerated women would increase their likelihood of self-mutilation. METHODS: Participants were 256 female inmates from five prisons in a large southern state who volunteered to attend a 12-week trauma and abuse psychosocial intervention group. The participants were evaluated for childhood abuse, criminal history, risk-taking behaviour and self-mutilation. Data are presented regarding individual, criminal, abuse, family and risk-taking behaviours comparing self-mutilators (n = 109) with non-self-mutilators (n = 147). RESULTS: The self-mutilation group was more likely to report higher rates of emotional, sexual and physical abuse and on clinical significance scales of anxiety, depression, dissociation, impaired self-reference, anger, tension reduction and intrusive experiences. The self-mutilation group was also younger and was more often Caucasian. The results of the regression model suggest that a history of suicide attempts, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, bingeing and vomiting and impaired self-reference are predictors of self-mutilation.CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Recommendations and implications for practice are discussed.

• Think about it till it hurts: targeting intensive services to facilitate behaviour change - two examples from the field of substance misuse.

  Authors: Rhoda Emlyn-Jones

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(4):234-41.

  BACKGROUND: In traditional services for people in crisis there is an expectation that those people will come forward and seek help. At a time of crisis this may not be a reasonable expectation.BACKGROUND: In traditional services for people in crisis there is an expectation that those people will come forward and seek help. At a time of crisis this may not be a reasonable expectation. METHOD: Two proactive and engaging programmes have been developed for substance users in crisis. 'Option 2' is for families at risk of having their children removed. 'STIR' is for people leaving prison. In both cases, a brief but intensive person-focused intervention is offered during the critical period. While both interventions may incorporate standard clinical elements, the distinctive feature they have in common is that workers go to the prospective client and encourage him or her to shape the solution in terms of both defining the immediate practical support they need and beginning to set longer term goals. RESULTS: In-service evaluations suggest that these services are valued by the clientele, produce measurable change in function for the majority and are likely to save public money. CONCLUSIONS: Formal research evidence of effectiveness and efficiency might be accomplished by comparing outcomes for similar clients in areas with and without these service options.

• In the coroner's chair - substance misuse and suicide in young people: have we got the focus right?

  Authors: Ian Smith, Ilana B Crome

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(4):197-203.

• What works in substance misuse treatments for offenders?

  Authors: Mary McMurran

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(4):225-33.

  BACKGROUND: The prevalence of problematic drinkers and drug users in correctional services of England and Wales is high, with implications not only for the health of prisoners, but also forBACKGROUND: The prevalence of problematic drinkers and drug users in correctional services of England and Wales is high, with implications not only for the health of prisoners, but also for substance-related crime. For most illicit drug users, the biggest criminological concern is acquisitive offending to fund the habit, whereas with alcohol it is violence and disorder. There is clearly a strong need in correctional services for treatment for both drug and alcohol use. What works in substance misuse treatments for offenders? FINDINGS: This review shows that the evidence is strongest for the effectiveness of therapeutic communities and cognitive-behavioural therapies. Purely behavioural therapies are ineffective, as are boot camps and group counselling. Maintenance prescription for offenders addicted to heroin, especially if combined with psychological treatment, shows promise. Arrest-referral schemes, court-mandated drug rehabilitation and drug courts can be effective, but improvements in multi-agency working are also necessary. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that treatment for substance abuse in correctional settings can work to reduce reoffending, and so it is worth focusing on how the effectiveness of these interventions may be improved. Improving completion rates, developing programmes aimed at specific drug- and alcohol-related offences, introducing stepped care and designing programmes to meet the needs of specific groups of offenders are all considered.

• Coherence and complexity: developing practical strategies for prevention and remediation of harm when major mental disorders, substance misuse and offending co-occur.

  Authors: Pamela J Taylor, Mary McMurran, David Reiss

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(4):193-6.

• Correlations between the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles and World-View Rating Scale in male federal prisoners.

  Authors: Glenn D Walters

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(3):184-8.

  INTRODUCTION: The lifestyle theory of criminal behaviour maintains that criminal thinking is hierarchically organized and that certain features of an individual's general world view should correspondINTRODUCTION: The lifestyle theory of criminal behaviour maintains that criminal thinking is hierarchically organized and that certain features of an individual's general world view should correspond with specific criminal thinking styles. HYPOTHESES: It was predicted that the eight Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) thinking style scales would correlate with the mechanism, fatalism, inequity and malevolence poles of the four World-View Rating Scale (WVRS) dimensions. METHOD: A group of 140 male medium security prison inmates rated themselves on the four dimensions of the WVRS and completed the PICTS. RESULTS: All eight PICTS thinking style scales correlated with mechanism, inequity and malevolence, but only six of the eight PICTS scales correlated with fatalism. In addition, two of four correlations specified a priori (i.e. between mollification and inequity and between power orientation and malevolence) proved significant in this study. DISCUSSION: The present findings suggest that two levels of a cognitive system held to be instrumental in maintaining a criminal lifestyle - criminal thinking styles and global belief systems - may be meaningfully linked.

• Issues affecting current forensic mental health practice.

  Authors: Herschel Prins

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(3):189-90.

• Contrary to popular belief, a lack of behavioural inhibitory control may not be associated with aggression.

  Authors: Peter G Enticott, James R P Ogloff, John L Bradshaw, Michael Daffern

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(3):179-83.

  BACKGROUND: Neuropsychological impairment in 'prefrontal' abilities, including inhibitory control, is theoretically linked to aggression. A potential clinical application involves the use ofBACKGROUND: Neuropsychological impairment in 'prefrontal' abilities, including inhibitory control, is theoretically linked to aggression. A potential clinical application involves the use of neuropsychological measures to predict violence within secure settings. This preliminary study investigates the association between behavioural inhibition (here the suppression or cessation of an inappropriate response) and aggression. METHOD: Ten violent male hospitalized offenders were compared with 10 healthy age- and IQ-matched men on two neuropsychological measures of behavioural inhibition. Incidents of aggression were recorded for the next five weeks for the offender group. RESULTS: Offenders displayed a general trend for reduced inhibitory control compared with the healthy men. Contrary to expectation, however, within the offender group, problems with behavioural inhibition were not associated with aggressive incidents in the short term. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary study is limited by a small sample size and short period of aggression measurement but it illustrates the need to be cautious about making inferences regarding possible mediators of aggression from one form to another and without taking account of context.

• Does PTSD occur in sentenced prison populations? A systematic literature review.

  Authors: Ashley Goff, Emmeline Rose, Suzanna Rose, David Purves

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(3):152-62.

  BACKGROUND: A systematic review of the literature on mental disorder in prisoners, published in 2002, made no mention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but indicators from other studiesBACKGROUND: A systematic review of the literature on mental disorder in prisoners, published in 2002, made no mention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but indicators from other studies suggest that a history of serious and chronic trauma is common among offenders. AIMS: To conduct a systematic review of the literature with the specific questions: does any epidemiological study of sentenced prisoners include data on prevalence of PTSD while in prison? If so, what is the prevalence in this group? METHOD: Literature databases EMBASE, Medline, PsychInfo, PILOTS and SIGLE were searched. The Journal of Traumatic Stress was searched manually. Preliminary screening was conducted by reading abstracts of hundreds of papers. Ten exclusion criteria were then applied to the screened selection. Reference sections of all accessed papers were searched for any further studies. RESULTS: One hundred and three potentially relevant papers were identified after preliminary screening. Four met all criteria for inclusion and suffered none of the exclusion criteria. PTSD rates ranged from 4% of the sample to 21%. Women were disproportionately affected. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: All four papers suggested that the prevalence of PTSD among sentenced prisoners is higher than that in the general population, as reported elsewhere. Overall the findings suggest a likely need for PTSD treatment services for sentenced prisoners.

• What do you think you're looking at? Investigating social cognition in young offenders.

  Authors: Alice P Jones, Alice S Forster, David Skuse

  Criminal behaviour and mental health : CBMH. 17(2):101-6.

  AIM: This small study was designed to assess the nature and severity of social-cognitive deficits in antisocial adolescents. METHOD: Thirty-seven boys aged 15-18 from a Young Offenders Institute andAIM: This small study was designed to assess the nature and severity of social-cognitive deficits in antisocial adolescents. METHOD: Thirty-seven boys aged 15-18 from a Young Offenders Institute and Community College participated. They were asked to complete a test of general intellectual ability and self-rating of social competence as well as tasks from the Skuse Schedules for the Assessment of Social Intelligence. RESULTS: Young offenders were poor at recognizing the facial expression of anger, regardless of intellectual ability. They could not accurately identify the direction of another's eye gaze. Their performance on theory of mind tasks, however, was unimpaired. CONCLUSION: These preliminary findings imply selective impairment in the cognitive appraisal of threat, which may contribute to social maladjustment. Further such study of social cognition among young offenders is indicated.

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