Samantha A Zottola1, Sarah L Desmarais1, Shevaun D Neupert1, Lin Dong1, Eric Laber1, Evan M Lowder1, Richard A Van Dorn1. 1. Department of Psychology (Zottola, Desmarais, Neupert) and Department of Statistics (Dong, Laber), North Carolina State University, Raleigh; Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia; (Lowder); RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (Van Dorn).
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The Brief Jail Mental Health Screen (BJMHS) is widely used at intake in county jails to identify detainees who may have serious mental illness and who should be referred for further mental health evaluation. The BJMHS may be administered multiple times across repeated jail bookings; however, the extent to which results may change over time is unclear. To that end, the authors examined the odds of screening positive on the BJMHS across repeated jail bookings. METHODS: Data were drawn from the administrative and medical records of a large, urban county jail that used the BJMHS at jail booking. The study sample comprised BJMHS results for the 12,531 jail detainees who were booked at least twice during the 3.5-year period (N=41,965 bookings). Multilevel logistic modeling was used to examine changes over time overall and within the four decision rules (current psychiatric medication, prior hospitalization, two or more current symptoms, and referral for any other reason). RESULTS: Results show that the odds of a positive screen overall increased with each jail booking, as did the odds of referral for any other reason. In contrast, the odds of screening positive for two or more current symptoms and prior hospitalization decreased. There was no change in the odds of screening positive for current psychiatric medication across bookings. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show that BJMHS results changed across bookings. Further research is needed to determine whether changes reflect true changes in mental health status, issues with fidelity, the repeated nature of the screening process, or other factors.
OBJECTIVE: The Brief Jail Mental Health Screen (BJMHS) is widely used at intake in county jails to identify detainees who may have serious mental illness and who should be referred for further mental health evaluation. The BJMHS may be administered multiple times across repeated jail bookings; however, the extent to which results may change over time is unclear. To that end, the authors examined the odds of screening positive on the BJMHS across repeated jail bookings. METHODS: Data were drawn from the administrative and medical records of a large, urban county jail that used the BJMHS at jail booking. The study sample comprised BJMHS results for the 12,531 jail detainees who were booked at least twice during the 3.5-year period (N=41,965 bookings). Multilevel logistic modeling was used to examine changes over time overall and within the four decision rules (current psychiatric medication, prior hospitalization, two or more current symptoms, and referral for any other reason). RESULTS: Results show that the odds of a positive screen overall increased with each jail booking, as did the odds of referral for any other reason. In contrast, the odds of screening positive for two or more current symptoms and prior hospitalization decreased. There was no change in the odds of screening positive for current psychiatric medication across bookings. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show that BJMHS results changed across bookings. Further research is needed to determine whether changes reflect true changes in mental health status, issues with fidelity, the repeated nature of the screening process, or other factors.
Entities:
Keywords:
BJMHS; Jails mental health screening; Recidivism
Authors: Andrew P Wilper; Steffie Woolhandler; J Wesley Boyd; Karen E Lasser; Danny McCormick; David H Bor; David U Himmelstein Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2009-01-15 Impact factor: 9.308