TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of psychopathology including substance use disorders in a sample of detained female systematic offenders. Design/methodology/approach– All case files of female systematic offenders who had been subjected to a special court order for systematic offenders in the period 2004-2014 were studied. A total of 81 fairly complete case files were selected for the study. These were all systematic offenders as they had been sentenced for at least 25 offences with an average of 102 offences over a period of 17.5 years. Findings– All except one woman were addicted to substances in the past year, with an average duration of addiction of 21 years. In addition, 53 per cent were diagnosed with another DSM Axis I disorder and 73 per cent were diagnosed with a personality disorder. Furthermore, 32-59 per cent were found to have intellectual dysfunctions. In total, 12 per cent had one type of the above disorders, 43 per cent two types, 31 per cent three types and 14 per cent all four types. The prevalence rates of these disorders were higher than those reported in other prison studies. Research limitations/implications– It is concluded that female systematic offenders can be characterised as problematic in many respects. Even in such a problematic group treatment can be provided. Originality/value– The present study is the only study that provides prevalence data of mental disorders among female systematic offenders.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
SN  - 1757-0972
DO  - 10.1108/ADD-08-2015-0020
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/ADD-08-2015-0020
AU  - Blaauw Eric
AU  - Strijker Gytha
AU  - Boerema Yentl
AU  - Veersma Eric
AU  - van der Meer-Jansma Margreet
AU  - Anthonio Gabriel
ED  - Dr Nat Wright, Dr Pamela Walters and Professor John Strang
PY  - 2016
Y1  - 2016/01/01
TI  - Dual diagnoses among detained female systematic offenders
T2  - Advances in Dual Diagnosis
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 7
EP  - 13
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -