Mental Disorder and Offending in Prison

Abstract

This research uses specific diagnoses and symptoms of mental disorder (MDO) to predict whether inmates offend in prison. Social psychological theories of aggression are used to make predictions about what types of MDO affect whether inmates commit violent and nonviolent infractions. The analysis was based on a survey of a nationally representative sample of more than 16,000 inmates from state and federal facilities. The evidence suggests that psychosis and major depression have strong effects on infractions involving aggression, whereas the effects of anxiety disorders are weaker and inconsistent. Psychosis and depression are also associated with nonaggressive offenses, suggesting that they have disinhibitory effects on misconduct generally. Analyses of the effects of symptoms suggest that paranoid thinking is the best predictor of offending, particularly, offending that involves aggression. In general, the evidence suggests that both cognitive and emotional aspects of MDO lead to prison offenses.