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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.

Information

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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