Der Nervenarzt
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While the international literature documents a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in prisoners, German studies in this field are rare. The base of knowledge is even worse with regard to female prisoners. The purpose of this study was to investigate DSM-IV axis I and II psychiatric disorders and current psychopathology and to estimate treatment needs in prisoners. ⋯ These results indicate that the proportion of mentally ill persons in prisons is substantially higher than in specialized hospitals for mentally ill criminals. More treatment options are urgently needed than has been realized up to now.