Indicators of Mental Health Problems Reported by Prisoners and Jail Inmates, 2011–12

About 1 in 7 state and federal prisoners (14%) and 1 in 4 jail inmates (26%) reported experiences that met the threshold for serious psychological distress (SPD) in the 30 days prior to a survey conducted between February 2011 and May 2012. Similarly, 37% of prisoners and 44% of jail inmates had been told in the past by a mental health professional that they had a mental disorder. Half of prisoners (50%) and a third of jail inmates (36%) either did not meet the threshold for SPD or had not been told they had a mental health disorder.

This report presents two prevalence estimates of mental health problems among state and federal prisoners and local jail inmates: those who met the threshold for SPD and those who were told by a mental health professional that they had a mental disorder. The Kessler 6 (K6) nonspecific psychological distress scale was used to assess SPD among prisoners and jail inmates in the 30 days prior to the survey. The estimates are based on self-reported data and should not be interpreted as representing a clinical diagnosis of a mental disorder. In this report, SPD in the past 30 days is defined as a current mental health problem. Being told by a mental health professional that one has a mental disorder is defined as having a history of a mental health problem.

This report examines the prevalence of the two mental health indicators by different time periods, demographics, criminal justice history, and current offenses. The percentage of inmates who had a mental health indicator and who received mental health treatment while incarcerated are also presented. Estimates are based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2011-12 National Inmate Survey. The data were self-reported and analyses include state and federal prisoners and local jail inmates.

To facilitate comparisons to the general population, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health were standardized to match the prison population and the jail population by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin. In addition, the general population was divided into three groups based on self-reported involvement with the criminal justice system in the year prior to the interview: no involvement, under supervision (probation or parole), or arrested.