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The year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of mass incarceration in the United States. For six decades, the U.S. incarceration rate has been near the top among all countries worldwide. In five major sections, this article offers a brief retrospective on mass incarceration. The first defines the nature of prison sentences. The second describes the current prison population's characteristics. The third examines the growth of the prison population, highlighting politically motivated policies and laws. The fourth provides a reckoning of the collateral damage caused by mass incarceration. The fifth and final section considers strategies to reduce imprisonment and its attendant harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the nature and prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suggests how it can be better recognized and treated in the mental health community. Throughout history, NSSI has been a core element of many types of rituals (e.g. cultural, religious, spiritual, and healing rituals) and is now also regarded as a pathological expression of emotional pain, particularly in Western cultures, where its occurrence has increased dramatically since the 1980s. NSSI involves the direct and deliberate self-infliction of bodily harm without suicidal intent. Self-injury can be viewed as a distinct mental health disorder, a defining criterion of other mental disorders, or a transient response to trauma or stress. Notwithstanding its etiology, NSSI should become a more salient aspect of psychiatric evaluation and intervention considering its frequency of occurrence and deleterious consequences, especially among young people. The current article consists of six sections that describe the terminology associated with NSSI; its general prevalence, measurement, and variability (age, race, and gender); its relationship with other psychiatric illness; and its diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the concept of recovery capital, which is based on a socioeconomic understanding of addiction. Substance abuse treatment programs, especially those in the criminal justice system, should recognize the important relationship between abstinence and recovery capital. A program is described which fosters recovery capital among former prisoners with substance use disorders who are reentering the community.

From 2003 to 2008, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities of Illinois (TASC) implemented the Reducing Risk: Outreach and Pretreatment for Probationers program (RROPP) in Cook County (Chicago), Illinois. The goal of RROPP was to reduce probationers' further penetration into the criminal justice system by increasing participation in substance abuse treatment. To achieve this goal, TASC incorporated evidence-based practices for enhancing the effectiveness of pretreatment services. An outcome evaluation assessed the extent to which RROPP's proposed goals were achieved. The evaluation also obtained useful information regarding lessons learned in the implementation of pretreatment services for probationers. Participation in TRGs was related positively to treatment entry, length of stay in first treatment episode, and completion of first treatment episode. (Contains 3 tables.)

Past studies of the mediating effects of substance use on the criminal justice involvement of the mentally ill have tended to focus on a single disorder, schizophrenia, and on violent crimes. This study examined the generality of the relationships among psychiatric disorders, substance use, and arrests for violent, nonviolent, and drug-related offenses using data collected for the 2001 and 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression models showed that for violent offenses, the statistical association between serious mental illness (SMI) and arrest across psychiatric diagnoses was substantially but only partially mediated by substance use. For nonviolent offenses and for drug-related offenses, the relationship between SMI and arrest was almost completely mediated by substance use and reduced to statistical nonsignificance. These findings suggest that co-occurring substance use increases the chances a person with any SMI, not just schizophrenia, will be arrested for any offense, not just violent offenses, but that the magnitude of this relationship varies by offense type and, to a lesser extent, by disorder. (Contains 5 tables.)

This study examines the associations among substance use and psychiatric disorders on arrests in a sample of 187 former recipients of Supplemental Security Income for drug addiction and alcoholism. Participants were interviewed at baseline and at 12, 18, and 24 months. Primary measures included urine tests for recent drug use, psychiatric and substance use disorders per DSM-III-R criteria, and official arrests gathered from criminal histories. Arrest data were considered in aggregate and by charge category using Cox regression survival models of time to arrest. The relationships among diagnosis, substance use, and arrests varied by arrest charge category with those actively using cocaine or diagnosed as schizophrenic most likely to be arrested for any charge while those with major depression the least likely to be arrested. Dependence on alcohol and antisocial personality disorder were strongly related to the likelihood of an arrest for a violent offense but schizophrenia was not. Based on the findings, it is recommended that future studies of the relationship between drugs and crime and psychiatric disorders and crime take into account the high rates of comorbidity. (Contains 2 tables.)

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2006.04.009 Byline: James A. Swartz (a), Arthur J. Lurigio (b) Keywords: Screening; Serious mental illness; Co-occurring disorders; Addiction Abstract: Serious mental illnesses (SMIs) such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression are prevalent among individuals with substance use disorders, particularly those in drug treatment programs. No screening tool has yet become the gold standard for identifying SMI among individuals with substance use disorders. One candidate instrument, the K6 screening scale, is brief, easy to administer and score, and has performed well, detecting SMI in studies using general population samples. We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health to examine the K6's psychometric properties in a subsample of persons with substance use disorders and found that the K6 accurately screened for severe psychological distress associated with SMI among individuals with substance use disorders and across different psychiatric disorders. Author Affiliation: (a) Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA (b) College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60626, USA Article History: Received 9 December 2005; Accepted 23 April 2006

This study examined substance abuse treatment providers' perceptions of the gender-specific service needs of women in treatment as well as the obstacles that impede the delivery of services to meet those needs. Surveys were administered to more than 100 staff members of five treatment agencies that were participating in the Chicago Practice Improvement Collaborative. These surveys were followed up with focus group discussions. Most participants reported that their treatment agencies delivered gender-specific services but also described the numerous barriers to addressing women's specific needs, such as limited resources and the psychosocial challenges experienced by women in treatment (e.g., depression, child care, and family responsibilities). We discuss these findings in light of previous studies, the strengths and limitations of our research design, and the value of collaborations between researchers and practitioners.

Issues discussed concern the backgrounds of men and women criminals sentenced to probation, focusing on the impact of gender on case outcome. An analysis of the characteristics of female offenders in the criminal justice system is presented.