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The substance use among forensic psychiatric patients
Kristiina Kivimies1, Eila Repo-Tiihonen, Jari Tiihonen
1Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland. kristiina.kivimies@niuva.fi
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
|January 17, 2012
Summary
Forensic patients show significantly higher rates of illegal drug use, including cannabis, amphetamine, and opiates, compared to the general population. No single substance uniquely predicts violent offending among mentally ill individuals.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Psychiatry
- Psychopharmacology
- Criminology
Background:
- Substance use disorders are prevalent in forensic psychiatric populations.
- Understanding the specific patterns of illegal substance use among violent offenders is crucial for risk assessment and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the prevalence of illegal substance use (cannabis, amphetamine, opiates) between forensic patients and the general population.
- To investigate differences in substance use patterns between forensic and nonforensic patients with psychosis.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 190 involuntarily treated forensic patients in Finland.
- Comparison of patient data with national hospital discharge registers.
- Benchmarking against national statistics from the general population.
Main Results:
- Forensic patients exhibited substantially higher lifetime prevalence of cannabis (2-fold), amphetamine (40-fold), and opiate (60-fold) use compared to the general population.
- Cannabis use was more prevalent than amphetamine use in both forensic (1.5-fold) and nonforensic (1.3-fold) patients.
- Cannabis-related diagnoses were significantly more common than opiate use in both forensic (4.7-fold) and nonforensic (3.7-fold) patients.
Conclusions:
- Illicit use of cannabis, amphetamine, and opiates is linked to an increased risk of forensic psychiatric hospitalization.
- No specific substance (cannabis, amphetamine, or opiates) showed a unique association with violent offending among individuals with psychosis.
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