THE NEXUS BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AMONG EX-CONVICTS IN NIGERIAN SOCIETY

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The relationship between mental health disorders and criminal recidivism among ex-convicts constitutes a critical but underexplored nexus in Nigerian criminology. This study examined the prevalence of mental health disorders among ex-convicts (n = 300) compared to a matched community control group (n = 300) across five Nigerian prisons, and evaluated the predictive value of specific mental health diagnoses for two-year recidivism using binary logistic regression. Clinical assessments employed the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST-10). Findings reveal that 82.7% of ex-convicts met criteria for at least one mental health disorder, compared to 29.7% in the control group (OR = 11.23, 95% CI [7.34, 17.18], p < 0.001). Substance Use Disorder (70.7%), Major Depressive Disorder (62.3%), and PTSD (47.7%) were the most prevalent diagnoses. Binary logistic regression identified Antisocial Personality Disorder (OR = 5.12), PTSD (OR = 4.31), and Substance Use Disorder (OR = 3.87) as the strongest independent predictors of recidivism. Prison mental health screening rates averaged only 27.3% nationally, with treatment access at 16.2%. The study concludes that Nigeria's prison system constitutes a mental health crisis requiring systematic psychiatric integration, trauma-informed rehabilitation, and community-based aftercare to break the mental health-crime recidivism cycle.

Keywords: mental health, recidivism, ex-convicts, Nigeria, substance use disorder, PTSD, criminal behaviour