Screening and Assessment of Co-Occurring Disorders in the Justice ...

prior hospitalization for mental health problems and current use of psychotropicmedication.Positive Features•y The Brief Jail Mental Health Screen is quick to administer (i.e., takesapproximately five minutes)•y The instrument was validated using the SCID, which is generallyacknowledged as the highest standard in assessing mental disorders•y The instrument has been tested in forensic populations and is readilyadaptable for use in correctional screening processes•y Little formal training is required to administer and score the instrumentConcerns•y The screen is more effective for men than women and has an “unacceptablyhigh” rate of false-negatives for female detainees (Steadman et al., 2005)•y The instrument does not screen for the entire spectrum of mentaldisorders, and is focused on the most severe disordersAvailability and CostThe BJMHS instrument may be obtained without charge by contacting theCMHS National GAINS Center at www.gainscenter.samsha.govBrief Symptom Inventory (BSI)The BSI (Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1983) is a brief, self-report screen for mentalhealth symptoms. The 53-item instrument was developed from its longerpredecessor, the Symptom Checklist 90–Revised (SCL90-R), and is especiallyuseful in monitoring treatment outcomes and providing a summary of symptomsat a specific point in time. The BSI includes nine Primary Symptom Dimensions(scales) including Somatization, Obsessive-Compulsive, Interpersonal Sensitivity,Depression, Anxiety, Hostility, Phobias, Paranoid Ideation, and Psychoticism.In addition, there are three Global Indices: Global Severity Index (GSI),measuring overall psychological distress; Positive Symptom Distress Index(PSDI), measuring the intensity of symptoms; and the Positive Symptom Total(PST), measuring the number of self-reported symptoms. There is also a brieferversion of the BSI (the Brief Symptom Inventory-18), which can be completedin approximately four minutes. The BSI-18 has three Symptom Dimensions(Somatization, Depression, and Anxiety) and one Global Index, the GSI. A ProfileReport is also provided, which presents raw and normalized T scores for each ofthe Primary and Global Scales. An Interpretive Report (not available with theBSI-18) provides a narrative summary of symptoms and scale scores. A ProgressReport is available to monitor an individual’s progress over time.64