Co-occurring mental disorders among criminal offenders.

Abstract

Many convicted offenders suffer from major mental disorders. These offenders commit crimes with great frequency. They do not receive mental health care and are often found in isolation cells of correctional facilities. The present investigation examined lifetime multiple disorders, measured by the DIS, among a representative sample of male penitentiary inmates. Pure forms of the major mental disorders were rare. All possible combinations of the major disorders were found to exist. No patterns of groupings of disorders were evident.