The Psychometric Properties of the Brief Symptom Inventory in Men under Criminal Justice Involvement: Implications for Forensic Social Workers in Practice Settings

Trajectories of heroin use: A 15-year retrospective study of Mexican-American men who were affiliated with gangs during adolescence

BACKGROUND

Heroin use is a public health concern in the United States. Despite the unique etiology and patterns of heroin use among U.S. Latinos, long-term heroin trajectories and health consequences among Latinos are not well understood. This study aims to document the distinct heroin use trajectories for a group of street-recruited (non-treatment), young adult Mexican American men living in a disadvantaged community who were affiliated with gangs during their youth.

METHODS

One-time interviews conducted between 2009-2012 in San Antonio, TX collected retrospective data from a sample of 212 Mexican American young adult men who reported using heroin at least once. Group-based trajectory modeling was applied to determine discrete developmental trajectories of heroin use. ANOVA, Chi square tests, and multinomial logistic regression examined current (past year) social and health indicators among each trajectory group.

RESULTS

Five discrete heroin trajectories groups were identified: low use (n = 65); late accelerating (n = 31); early decelerating (n = 26); late decelerating (n = 38); and stably high (n = 52). Varying social and health consequences were found among the trajectory groups.

CONCLUSION

This study describes the unique heroin use trajectories and social and health outcomes among a high-risk subgroup of Mexican American men. The findings suggest that early intervention and intervention available in easy to access non-treatment spaces may be especially useful for groups of people who use relatively less heroin.

Perceived Social Ties and Mental Health Among Formerly Incarcerated Men in New York City

The incarcerated population has been substantially burdened by syndemic productions involving mental health illness and substance abuse problems. The present analysis describes the mental health symptoms of a nonprobability sample of 225 formerly incarcerated men and establishes the types of perceived support they received during incarceration as predictors of their psychological well-being upon release. The men were between 35 and 67 years of age; the mean age was 47.27 (SD = 6.64), and Blacks and Latinos were about equally represented. Most respondents did not finish high school, were unemployed, convicted of a nonviolent crime, and were housed in a New York state prisons. The majority were also single (never married) and had children. The findings indicate that greater social, community, and spiritual support were correlated with lower mental health scores. The strongest predictor was perceived social support. Access and use of social resources, including social support, are important factors in influencing the psychological functioning among formerly incarcerated men.

Neurodevelopmental disorders in prison inmates: comorbidity and combined associations with psychiatric symptoms and behavioural disturbance

The identification and management of inmates with neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) has been insufficiently addressed in the literature. We estimated the proportion of cases with Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Intellectual disability (ID) in prison, their comorbidity, and associations with disruptive behaviours and with psychiatric symptoms. Further, we examined the role of coexisting ND on psychiatric symptoms and attitudes toward violence. All 390 male inmates underwent an assessment that included the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults 2.0, the Autism Quotient, the Learning Disability Screening Questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and measures of disruptive behaviours and attitudes towards violence. The percentage of cases with ADHD, ASD and ID were 25%, 9% and 9%. Inmates with ADHD and those with ID had significantly higher levels of disruptive behaviours. The combined ADHD/ASD group had significantly higher scores on global severity symptoms than either ADHD or ASD only. Meanwhile, the combined ADHD/ID group had significantly higher scores of behavioural disturbance than the ADHD-only group. Our findings show the extent of ND in prison, their inter-relations and associations with further mental health problems. Vulnerabilities conferred by ND within the criminal justice system should be addressed via interventions and preventative strategies.