Mental Health and Recidivism Bria C. Higgs La Salle University Student, Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice
LITERATURE REVIEW
How does mental illness affect recidivism rates amongst adult male offenders? Budget cuts and government program restructuring many mentally ill offenders (MIOs) enter CJ system (Baillargeon, Binswanger, Penn, Williams & Murray, 2009) MIOs are overrepresented in mandatory custody agencies, including prisons, jails, and involuntary commitment facilities (Skeem et al., 2010) Some experts claim that the CJ system has become the primary agency of social control for the mentally ill (Skeem et al., 2010)
How does mental illness affect recidivism rates amongst adult male offenders? Within the criminal justice system offenders are categorized and treated based on the severity of their illness (Feder, 1991) Mental illnesses most often associated with violent offenses (MMI/SMI) are bipolar disorder, major depression, and personality disorders such as anxiety (Baillargeon et al., 2009) Male offenders with mental illnesses have higher risks of recidivism than women (Baillargeon et al., 2009)
Risk Factors The presence of mental illness did NOT increase the risk of future institutional misconduct or recidivism. Black race, male gender, age, and substance abuse are the most consistent significant risk factors of recidivism for both mentally ill and nonmentally ill populations (Hartwell, 2003:154) History of violent offenses + diagnosis of a mental illness elevates an individual s odds of institutional infractions and recidivism (Walter & Crawford, 2013). Criminal history research on recidivism rates among mentally ill juvenile offenders is relevant to research on adult MIOs. Poverty, maltreatment, and diagnosis relating to aggressive behavior (Barret et al., 2014: 9) were significant indicators of high recidivism rates amongst juvenile offenders. Parole or probation status has an insignificant effect on the relationship between risk and recidivism. Substance abuse and misuse are particularly useful indicators for measuring the time before first offense (Castillo& Alarid, 2011).
Risk Factors Mentally ill offenders do not have distinct criminogenic needs! Symptoms of the mental illness promote risk factors that would make any offender more likely to recidivate (Dirks-linhorst, P., & Linhorst, D. M.: 2012) The literature states that more severe mental illness are positively associated with more violent crimes, while less severe mental illnesses, such as ADHD, were associated with less severe violent crimes and property crimes (Colins, O. F., Boonmann, C., Veenstra, J., van Domburgh, L., Buffing, F., Doreleijers, T. A.H., Vermeiren, R.R.J. M., 2013). Mentally ill misdemeanants are more likely to be reincarcerated while mentally ill felons are more likely to be sentenced to psychiatric hospitals (Hartwell, 2013) Research shows that untreated MIOs are more likely to reoffend than those who receive treatment.
Recidivism Reduction Programs and Treatment Positive peer and family social support is a significant predictor of lower recidivism rates amongst mentally ill offenders (Spjeldnes, S., Jung, H., Maguire, L., & Yamatani, H.: 2012) Family background and ethnicity can also affect the effectiveness of a treatment plan ethnic origin must be considered in calculating recidivism risks because the state tends to be biased in favor of the majority ethnic group (Colins et al.:2013) Co-occurring substance misuse and non-adherence with medications is strongly associated with violence Risk of violence increased amongst participants who were less than 40 years old, single, had low social support, lived in urban areas, were recently homeless, and suffered from greater functional impairment. Rates of violence decreased amongst participants who received at least six months of outpatient care. Longer periods of outpatient care + adherence to medicinal and therapeutic treatment plan = lower risk of recidivism (Swanson et al., 2000; Jacoby & Kozie-Peak, 1997)
Recidivism Reduction Programs and Treatment Once mentally ill offenders are provided with the tools they need to stabilize their condition they only require the same tools a non-mentally ill offender needs to prevent recidivism (Skeem et al., 2011) Jail based case-management + continued community-based case management upon release = reduction in recidivism (Ventura et al., 1998) Offenders who successfully complete mental health courts programs are less likely to reoffend MIOs being tried for minor offenses were more likely to complete the program than those being tried for serious offenses. MIOs who successfully complete programs that combine comprehensive services are less likely to recidivate than mentally ill offenders who did not participate in a program at all (Dirks-Linhorst, P., & Linhorst, D. M., 2012)
Three Common Limitations 1. Most studies limited to one state program a) If an offender reoffends in a different state that re-offense was not included in the calculations b) Findings from a study that only based its analyses on one or two states may not be generalizable to mentally ill offenders in other areas of the country. (Baillargeon et al.:2009, Barrett, D. E., Katsiyannis, A., Zhang, D., & Zhang, D. : 2014, Hartwell, S.:2003, Jacoby et al. :1997) 2. Limited access to criminal histories The exact impact of an offender s criminal history on recidivism cannot be determined. (Baillargeon et al.:2009, Castillo et al. :2011, Hoeve, M., McReynolds, L. S.,& Wasserman, G. A. :2013, Pullmann, M. D., Kerbs, J., & Koroloff, N. :2006) 3. Excludes less severe (or axis II) mental illnesses. Thus it is difficult to ascertain potential differences in likeliness to reoffend amongst inmates who suffer from axis I and axis II mental illnesses. (Abracen, J. & Axford, M. & Dickey, R. & Ferguson, M. & Gallo, A.& Looman, J. :2013, Baillargeon et al.:2009, Colins, et al. 2013). Langston, C. M. &
MY STUDY
Methods The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) dataset contains information on approximately 1700 adult males recently released from state prisons. Participants interviewed 30 days prior to release (Wave 1), 3 months postrelease (Wave 2), 9 months post-release (Wave 3), and 15 months postrelease (Wave 4). Variables measured current emotional condition, treatment received, selfreported crime, and official crime reports Although there was some attrition between the beginning and end of data collection, over 80% of participants provided at least one of the post release interviews. Bivariate analyses run in SPSS on self-reports and official reports of crimes committed during Waves 2 and 4 Listwise deletion was used to handle missing data.
Hypotheses The first hypothesis was that there would be a difference in the relationship between the mean symptom scores for mentally ill offenders who recidivated and those who did not recidivate. The second hypothesis was that there would be a significant relationship between the likelihood to recidivate and at least one of the symptoms.
Results
Results (Cont d) Preliminary Findings W2 Self-report [3 mon]: the difference between the mean scores of people who did and did not reoffend were statistically significant for each symptom W2 Official report [3 mon]: the difference between the mean scores of offenders that did and did not reoffend were statistically significant for all symptoms except hostility, phobic anxiety, and somatization. W4 Self-report [15 mon]: the difference between the mean scores of people who did and did not reoffend were statistically significant for every symptom W4 Official report [15mon]: the difference between the mean scores of people who did and did not reoffend were statistically significant for every symptom except somatization
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Policy Implications Standard correctional programs may be insufficient to deal with the needs of high-risk (less serious) offenders. The findings of the study suggest that there may be a need for more sophisticated mental health resources for high risk population more detailed criminal history notations Nationwide database to keep track of every offender s criminal history will strengthen findings for a multitude of research topics (including this one) Professional corrections and mental health staff should provide as much detail as possible adult and juvenile offenses so that better criminal histories can be examined for adult offenses.
Policy Implications In addition to medicinal and communicative therapy, comprehensive community based resources should help structure and encourage inmates social support networks post-release to prevent recidivism