Prevalence of Mental Health Problems in Men and Women in an Australian Prison Sample: Comparing Psychiatric History Taking and Symptom Screening Approaches

Abstract In an Australian survey of male and female adult prisoners (N = 1,132), two approaches to identifying mental health problems (symptom screening and self-reported psychiatric history) were compared. A higher proportion of women (77.7%) than men (61.8%) reported a prior diagnosis of at least one disorder. Almost half (49.8%) screened positive for current symptoms of mental illness. The proportion of symptom screen-positive individuals missed by psychiatric history ranged from 15.5% to 81.6%. To identify all potential mental health need and fully inform service development, future studies should consider a range of approaches to case ascertainment, although validation of new approaches is required.