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Psychiatric Morbidity in Sentenced Segregated HIV-Positive Prisoners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Arthur Dorman ,
Art O'Connor ,
Eamonn Hardiman ,
Aideen Freyne  and
Helen O'Neill
Arthur Dorman*
Affiliation:
The Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Republic of Ireland
Art O'Connor
Affiliation:
The Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Republic of Ireland
Eamonn Hardiman
Affiliation:
The Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Republic of Ireland
Aideen Freyne
Affiliation:
The Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Republic of Ireland
Helen O'Neill
Affiliation:
The Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14, Republic of Ireland
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

In this comparative study with a control group of prisoners, psychiatric morbidity was measured in two groups of sentenced prisoners, each group completing the GHQ-30 and 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Group 1 consisted of 40 segregated HIV-positive prisoners and group 2 a matched control group in the main prison who had no history of HIV seropositivity. All members of group 1 had a history of intravenous drug abuse. The mean GHQ-30 and BDI scores were significantly higher in group 1, and 90% of group 1 were psychiatric ‘cases’ compared with just over 42% of group 2. Levels of psychiatric morbidity present in a third group, consisting of HIV-positive prisoners who had not been segregated (prison authorities were unaware of their seropositivity) are an interesting pointer for further research.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 163 , Issue 6 , December 1993 , pp. 802 - 805
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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