Mental health among suburban drug court participants

The issue of co-occurring disorders is of concern to the Criminal Justice field, including drug courts. To assess the potential co-occurrence of substance use- and mental health-related diagnoses, the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire and similar instruments was administered to suburban drug court clients. Based on the screening, one quarter to one half of the 108 participants would be referred for follow-up for a mental health issue; women would be referred at a greater rate than men. There is a need to develop appropriate, brief mental health screening instruments for use in drug court settings so that clients can receive necessary services.