Loong Desmond, Barnsley Jan, Aubry Tim, Dewa Carolyn S
Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada.
Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Health Sciences Building, 155 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M6, Canada.
Int J Law Psychiatry. 2021 Jan-Feb;74:101651. doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2020.101651. Epub 2020 Nov 24.
There is growing evidence that diversion to a mental health court program (MHC) can reduce recidivism rates and improve the quality of life of clients. However, there is less known about MHC client characteristics and factors associated with recidivism. Yet, this information would be useful to increase the effectiveness of these programs. Cross-sectional quantitative data were collected on MHC clients in three consecutive years. Of the 155 program clients that were successfully interviewed, only 154 were included in the analysis due to one non-consent to collect further data from their case manager. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to examine "What individual factors are associated with recidivism among MHC program clients?" This analysis specifically explored the association of sex, age, low functional ability, homelessness, court site, and criminal history. From the multiple logistic regression results, the increased risk of recidivism was found to be significantly associated with younger clients and a prior criminal history. The results of this study suggest programs tailored to young adults and repeat offenders may be areas that MHCs could potentially focus on to increase their effectiveness.
越来越多的证据表明，转介到心理健康法庭项目（MHC）可以降低累犯率并改善服务对象的生活质量。然而，对于MHC服务对象的特征以及与累犯相关的因素，我们了解得较少。然而，这些信息对于提高这些项目的有效性将是有用的。连续三年收集了关于MHC服务对象的横断面定量数据。在成功接受访谈的155名项目服务对象中，由于有一人不同意从其案件管理人员处收集进一步的数据，因此只有154人被纳入分析。这项二次分析的目的是研究“MHC项目服务对象中哪些个体因素与累犯相关？”该分析具体探讨了性别、年龄、低功能能力、无家可归、法庭地点和犯罪史之间的关联。从多元逻辑回归结果来看，发现累犯风险增加与年轻服务对象和先前的犯罪史显著相关。这项研究的结果表明，针对年轻人和惯犯量身定制的项目可能是MHC可以潜在关注以提高其有效性的领域。
