Epidemiology of Mental Disorders among Male Prisoners in Adel Abad Prison of Shiraz

This study aimed at investigating the prevalence of mental health disorders among the male prisoners of Adel-Abad Prison in Shiraz. 200 male prisoners selected through stratified random sampling were evaluated by SCL-90-R for the purpose of preliminary screening. Following clinical interviews based on DSM-IV, two psychiatrists who worked independent of one another assessed the subjects. The final diagnosis for each case was made and cases of probable malingering were excluded. Only the subjects, whose diagnosis was confirmed by both psychiatrists, participated in the study. The findings showed that 75.1% of subjects were affected by mental disorders, of whom 41.9% suffered from mood disorders, 33.2% from personality disorders, 8.1% from anxiety disorders, 6.45% from organic-brain disorders, and psychosomatic disorders, 5.64% from psychosis, and 5.64% from somatoform disorders. Mental disorders are much more prevalent among prisoners than the general public.