Browne C1,2, Marr C1
1University Of New South Wales, 2Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network
Biography:
Dr.Carey Marr is a Research Fellow within the Discipline for Psychiatry and Mental Health at the UNSW. Her research focuses on mental health in forensic settings, and she is interested in using research to improve policy and practice in legal and custodial settings.
Christie Browne is a Forensic Psychologist who has worked as a clinician and researcher in custodial and secure mental health settings. She is a Senior Research Officer with NSW’s Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network and a Research Fellow at UNSW, where she is also completing a PhD within the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health.
The prevalence of mental illness in custodial settings is much higher than prevalence in the community for young people and adults alike. However, very few studies have examined how these rates have changed over time. In two studies, we examined the changing rates of mental illness in youth justice centres and adult prisons in NSW over a 15-year period and made descriptive comparisons with published community rates. In addition to mental illness, we also examined key socio-demographic, criminal justice, and drug and alcohol variables over the three surveys for both young people and adults. Our findings confirmed that individuals in both youth and adult custody in NSW have higher rates of mental illness, self-harm and suicidal behaviours, and drug and alcohol use than those in the general population. Broadly, young people showed little consistent change over time, though some fluctuations were observed particularly regarding certain mental illnesses and substance use. More definitive trends were found in adults in custody. Individuals surveyed in 2015 were two and a half times more likely to report a mental health diagnosis than those surveyed in 2001, with growth particularly evident in women, who were nearly three times more likely to report a diagnosis in 2015. In contrast, self-reported regular drug use decreased over this period while the prevalence of self-harm and suicidal behaviours remained stable. We will present data on the changing profile of incarcerated adults and young people, describe the implications of these results for public and prison health systems, and discuss strategies to reduce the growing burden of mental illness in custodial settings.