Associations of substance abuse histories and gambling addiction history with post-traumatic stress symptoms and depressive symptoms among Chinese prisoners

Abstract

Background : Although there are over two million prisoners in China, few studies have reported the prevalence and correlates of mental health problems in this population. Objective : This study investigated the prevalence rates of trauma exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among Chinese male prisoners and further examined the associations of substance abuse histories and gambling addiction history with PTSD and depressive symptoms. Method : Participants were 1,484 male prisoners (mean age 35.44 years, sd = 9.66) recruited from a large prison in Guangdong, China. Self-administered standardized questionnaires were used to assess trauma exposure, histories of substance abuse and perceived gambling addiction, social supports, childhood trauma, PTSD and depression. Criminal background information was extracted from jail record. Linear regressions were performed to examine the correlates of PTSD and depressive symptoms. Results : Of these participants, 78.8% had experienced at least one trauma exposure, 26.7% had drug addiction, 85.5% had smoked cigarettes, 70.8% had used alcohol and 21.4% had gambling addiction before incarceration. The prevalence rates of PTSD and depression were 7.1% and 28.8%, respectively. Trauma exposure was significantly associated with PTSD and depressive symptoms, but not substance abuse histories and gambling history except for drinking. Histories of drinking and perceived gambling addiction were significantly related to PTSD and depressive symptoms after adjustment of demographics, criminal background, health status, social supports, childhood trauma and lifetime traumatic exposure. Conclusions : Trauma exposure, PTSD and depression are common among prisoners. Furthermore, this study for the first time demonstrates a significant relationship between gambling addiction history and PTSD.

Depression in Male Inmates

“…In India, among 146 male inmates, 25.7% had moderately severe depression and 27.6% severe depression [ 15 ]. In China (Guangdong), depression rates were 28.8% among 1484 male prisoners [ 16 ]. A relevant study in Greece of 495 male prisoners indicated that 223 (45.06%) were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder with the most prevalent reason for imprisonment being non-violent crimes (40.7%) [ 7 ].…”

“…In addition, higher education, being accused of a crime, and low social support were predictors of depression [ 15 ]. Furthermore, a history of drinking problems and gambling addiction were related to depressive symptoms [ 16 ].…”

Clinical correlates of irritability, anger, hostility, and aggression in posttraumatic stress disorder.

“…Then, probable PTSD was screened based on the following criterion: at least one reexperiencing symptom, one avoidance symptom, two NACM symptoms, and two hyperarousal symptoms (Weathers, Litz, et al, 2013). PCL-5 and LEC-5 have been translated into Chinese (P. Liu et al, 2014) and used in prisoners and community samples (Geng, Li, et al, 2021; Geng, Tu, et al, 2021). In the current study, Cronbach's α for PCL-5 and LEC-5 are 0.76 and 0.78, respectively.…”

The relationship between nature exposure and depression among Chinese prisoners: a moderated mediation model

“…Another study found that 9–29% of inmates in the United States experience depression ( Prins, 2014 ). In China, Geng et al (2021) , who recruited 1,484 male Chinese prisoners from Guangdong, discovered that the depression rate was 28.8%. Indeed, depression is the most common mental health disorder among prisoners ( Johnson and Zlotnick, 2012 ), prison officials unfortunately often overlook it ( Iversen et al, 2014 ).…”