The most common disorders found were substance abuse disorders, depression and stress-related disorders. The results also show an increase over time in the number of people who enter prison with an ongoing mental disorder.
Women had higher levels of mental disorders than men (75% vs. 59%). In 2019, over half of the women who entered prison in Norway had an active mental disorder
The two recently published studies are based on data from the PriSUD project which includes all individuals who were incarcerated during the period 2010-2019, comprising about 50,000 individuals. The studies are the first to systematically examine the prevalence of substance abuse and mental disorders among both men and women in Scandinavian prisons. It is also includes the first description of how these challenges evolve over time.
Read the full text articles:
- Svendsen, Vegard G., Marianne Riksheim Stavseth, Torbjørn Skardhamar, and Anne Bukten. "Psychiatric morbidity among women in Norwegian prisons, 2010–2019: a register-based study." BMC psychiatry 23, no. 1 (2023): 390.
- Bukten, Anne, Suvi Virtanen, Morten Hesse, Zheng Chang, Timo Lehmann Kvamme, Birgitte Thylstrup, Torill Tverborgvik, Ingeborg Skjærvø, and Marianne R. Stavseth. "The prevalence and comorbidity of mental health and substance use disorders in Scandinavian prisons 2010–2019: a multi-national register study." BMC psychiatry 24, no. 1 (2024): 95.