Exploring Past Year Arrest among Adults in the United States: Characteristics of and Association with Mental Illness and Substance Use

Background: The prevalence of arrest among adults with any mental illness (AMI) equated to an annual average of 2.4 million people for 2008 and 2009. The prevalence of past year arrest in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) among adults with AMI was 3 times that of adults without AMI (5.4 vs. 1.8%). Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the association between AMI and past year arrest among adults in the US. Data and methods: The data for this research are taken from the 2008 and 2009 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between mental illness and arrests after controlling for substance use and demographics among all adults. Results: Logistic regression results show AMI and SMI are significantly associated with the odds of arrest, even when models controlled for demographic factors and substance use status. Among all adults, logistic regression model results show that those who have AMI are more than two [OR=2.36] times significantly more likely to be arrested. Among all adults, having substance use disorder (SUD) was the strongest correlate of arrest (adjusted OR=6.44), followed by not completing high school (adjusted OR=3.53), past year illicit drug use without an SUD (adjusted OR=2.81), and male gender (adjusted OR=2.70).  Conclusion: The growing population of AMI, SMI and SUDs prisoners has become a reality for state, federal and jail systems throughout the United States and has become an increasing community, clinical, and financial concern.