The psychopathology of military detainee and prisoners

Abstract EN

Objectives : to estimate rates of mental disorders, and types of offenses, among military prisoners who, upon court order, have been referred for psychiatric assessment and reporting.

Methods : the study involved 127 servicemen detainees in the military prison, who were referred to the psychiatric ward in the Royal Jordanian Medical Services (RJMSs), upon court order, for psychiatric evaluation and reporting, in the period between October 2000 and May 2008.

They underwent psychiatric evaluation and reports which were prepared and presented in courts where mental state and capacity of all defendants were discussed.

Psychiatric diagnosis and charges of the defendants were compared to those of a control sample of prison population who were not referred for assessment by court.

Results : ninety one (72 %) persons of the study group had a psychiatric diagnosis, compared to (64 %) of the control group p > 0.05.

Most referrals made by military courts were for those who had illegally deserted the army (80 %), while desertion constituted (14 %) of the control group p < 0.05.

Conclusions : there are high rates of psychiatric diagnoses amongst military prison population who have been held in custody for different charges.

There is a high rate of psychiatric referrals ordered by military courts for servicemen charged with desertion.

They formed 80 % of the study sample, 14% of the control group, and 26 % of prison population.