Self-Reported Substance Misuse in Greek Male Prisoners

Abstract

The aim of this survey was to determine levels and severity of self-reported alcohol and drug misuse and associated physical and mental health problems in Greek male prisoners. The sample consisted of 80 randomly selected convicted and remanded male prisoners in a prison in northern Greece. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used to assess psychiatric disorders including substance abuse and dependence. All prisoners who participated completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Those who reported daily use of opiates and stimulants completed the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS). Information was obtained from medical notes about the prisoners’ hepatitis B and HIV status. The MINI identified 27.5% of the prisoners as dependent on opiates, 26.3% on alcohol and 73.8% as cannabis users, while 13.8% were misusing both alcohol and illicit drugs. Severity of dependence was rated, using SDS, as serious for all opiate and stimulant users. In terms of physical health examination of medical records indicated that no prisoner was HIV-positive but 26.5% were hepatitis-B-positive. Of those who had a previous history of substance misuse, 31.2% fulfilled the criteria for depression and 37.5% for antisocial personality disorder. Similarly, 15% of those misusing substances had a previous history of deliberate self-harm and 16% were assessed to have moderate to high suicide risk.

Route of Administration of Illicit Drugs among Remand Prison Entrants

“…More recently, in a small sample of 80 inmates of the Greek prison in Komotini, with half of the prisoners sentenced, Fotiadou et al [20] found a very high rate of cannabis users (73.8%), and high rates of use of other substances, including, as in our study, frequent use of several drugs. In France, Sahajian et al [14] found 63.1% illicit drug users in Lyon prisons.…”

“…In the study by Fotiadou et al [20] on 80 Greek prisoners, half on remand and half sentenced, 35% claimed to be intravenous drug users.…”

Predictive validity of the AUDIT for hazardous alcohol consumption in recently released prisoners

“…Longitudinal research has established the predictive value of the AUDIT in community populations, where it has been shown to predict future alcohol-related social and medical problems (Conigrave et al, 1995), mortality (Bradley et al, 2001), medication non-adherence (Bryson et al, 2008) and recurrence and persistence of alcohol dependence (Boschloo et al, 2012). In prisons, cross-sectional research has found that between 57% and 81% of prisoners screen positive for harmful alcohol consumption on the AUDIT (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012;Borrill et al, 2003;Butler et al, 2003;Coulton et al, 2012;Fotiadou et al, 2004;MacAskill et al, 2011;McMurran, 2005;Newbury-Birch et al, 2009;Plant and Taylor, 2012).…”

Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol and drug-related disorders in prison: a French national study

“…Few studies have explored these factors in DAD prisoners and most were again limited to incoming/remanded prisoners. Among the significant factors are: age, ethnicity [17], childhood conduct disorders, childhood abuse, school difficulties [17,19-22], additional substance-related disorder, previous psychiatric treatment, co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis, psychosis, mood disorder, antisocial personality, self-harm, suicide risk, history of serious illness or injury [16,17,21-23], fewer qualifications, unemployment, housing difficulties [21] and the length of time spent in prison [17]. AAD in prison has been generally ignored, yet alcohol has been widely related to violent behaviour and criminality.…”