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Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 3/2006

01-05-2006

The Mental Health of Federal Offenders: A Summative Review of the Prevalence Literature

Authors: Philip R. Magaletta, Pamela M. Diamond, Erik Dietz, Stephen Jahnke

Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research | Issue 3/2006

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To date, only a small number of government and peer-reviewed studies have examined the mental health of federal offenders. Although these studies provide isolated bits of information they have yet to be organized into a coherent body of knowledge from which clinicians, administrators and policy makers can inform their work. As a first step in constructing this knowledge and understanding the possible mental health needs of this population (currently America’s largest correctional population), this paper delineates the available government and peer-reviewed studies on federal offenders, highlights their convergent findings, and suggests opportunities for growth in research, administration and policy.
Footnotes
1
Approximately 60,000 federal offenders are released from prison yearly.
 
2
In fact, several recent research initiatives by the National Institute of Justice, National Institute of Drug Abuse and the Centers for Disease Control would indicate that this movement has already begun.
 
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Metadata
Title
The Mental Health of Federal Offenders: A Summative Review of the Prevalence Literature
Authors
Philip R. Magaletta
Pamela M. Diamond
Erik Dietz
Stephen Jahnke
Publication date
01-05-2006
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research / Issue 3/2006
Print ISSN: 0894-587X
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3289
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-005-0022-2

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