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Published Online: 2 May 2024

Access to Psychiatric and Education Services During Incarceration in the United States

Publication: Psychiatric Services

Abstract

Objective:

Individuals with psychiatric disorders are incarcerated at disproportionately high rates and often have low educational attainment. Access to psychiatric and education services within prisons has been described as inadequate, but recent data are lacking. The authors sought to assess the association of psychiatric disorders with both educational attainment before incarceration and access to psychiatric and education services during incarceration.

Methods:

Data were from the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, a national survey of adults incarcerated in U.S. state and federal prisons (N=24,848). Multinomial regression was used to identify associations of educational attainment before incarceration with psychiatric disorders and sociodemographic factors. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess associations of psychiatric disorders with access to psychiatric and education services during incarceration and with sociodemographic factors.

Results:

Before incarceration, 57.3% of survey respondents had less than a high school diploma. Across four education and psychiatric services, only 8.4%–44.8% of respondents reported participating in these services during incarceration, despite 57.3% reporting a psychiatric or learning disorder. Psychiatric disorders were associated with lower educational attainment before incarceration and lower access to education services during incarceration. Psychiatric disorders were associated with higher odds of access to psychiatric services during incarceration. Men had lower educational attainment before incarceration and lower odds of accessing psychiatric and education services during incarceration.

Conclusions:

Incarcerated people had a high need for psychiatric and education services. Individuals with psychiatric disorders had lower odds of participating in education services during incarceration, highlighting the need for policies and services that increase participation.

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Information

Published In

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Psychiatric Services

History

Received: 7 July 2023
Revision received: 8 November 2023
Revision received: 20 January 2024
Accepted: 31 January 2024
Published online: 2 May 2024

Keywords

  1. Criminal justice
  2. Education
  3. Jails and prisons
  4. Mental health services
  5. Learning disability
  6. Psychosocial rehabilitation

Authors

Details

Brandy F. Henry, Ph.D., M.S.W. [email protected]
Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, College of Education (Henry, Gray), and Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction, Social Science Research Institute (Henry), Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
Joy Gray, Ph.D., M.Ed.
Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, College of Education (Henry, Gray), and Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction, Social Science Research Institute (Henry), Pennsylvania State University, University Park.

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Henry ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

The authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

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