Prevalence of Psychiatric Morbidity Among Inmates Serving Life Sentence at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison

Abstract

Mental disorders are widespread within incarcerated populations, with a significant portion of individuals having a history of legal conflicts. The experience of imprisonment, coupled with the challenging prison conditions, can worsen preexisting mental health conditions in susceptible individuals. Furthermore, those serving life sentences often experience more severe mental disorders compared to inmates with shorter sentences. The main aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among inmates serving life sentence at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. In this cross-sectional descriptive study 307 inmates serving life sentences at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison were recruited using systematic probability sampling. Data collection was done using a researcher-designed socio demographic questionnaire and MINI V 7.0. Ethical consideration and protocols to mitigate against Covid 19 were adhered to. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS version 26.0. 307 questionnaires were deemed fit for analysis with a response rate of 100%. The respondents were mostly between the ages of 41-50 years (N= 118, 38.4%). Most were married at 47.6% (N=146). 54.1% (N=166) had attained primary level of education. Prior to imprisonment close to half of the population sample reported that they were self-employed (N=137, 44.6%). The residential area prior to imprisonment of also varied with bulk of the study participants 59.3% (N=182) reporting that they lived in the urban areas. The study population was primarily composed of Christians 78.8% (N=242), with Muslims comprising 16.3% (N=50) of the total sample. On enquiry about the crimes committed that resulted in the verdict of life imprisonment; 42.0% (N=129) of the respondents reported having been convicted for robbery with violence. In regards to the time spent in prison at the time of our data most of the respondents 42.7% (N=131) had spent more than 10 years behind bars. 81.8% (N=251) of the participants had not been diagnosed before with a mental illness. 249 out of 307 of the participants screened positive to at least one psychiatric diagnosis, with an overall prevalence of 81.1%. The overall prevalence of depression from our population was 24.4% (N=75) while Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) was 11.4% (N=35). Bipolar mood disorder and suicidality both had a prevalence of 5.5% (N=17). Panic disorder and Substance Use (non-alcoholic) both had a prevalence of 6.2% (N=19) while Generalized anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorders had a prevalence of 9.8% (N=30) and 0.65% (N=2) respectively. Other disorders such as OCD had a prevalence of 0.33% with only one respondent (N=1) screening positive. Disorders such as agoraphobia, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders were not present in our target sample and their prevalence stood at 0%.