OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of mental disorders among prisoners with a short prison term. METHODS: We investigated 102 participants with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID I and II) and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90). RESULTS: We found a lifetime-prevalence of mental disorders (axis I) of 83 %. 80 % of the participants showed at least one personality disorder. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that short-term prisoners are a population which is highly troubled in a psychiatric sense and shows a need of treatment in prison.
