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  • Remand prisoners’ specific needs: A systematic review
    Publication . Andrade, Joana; Sousa, Marta; Abrunhosa Gonçalves, Rui; Castro Rodrigues, Andreia de
    Remand prisoners (RP) are non-sentenced individuals who must be held in prison awaiting sentencing. The international data reported that up to a third of the detainees worldwide are in a pre-trial situation. The present systematic review aims to review the studies that assessed the remand prisoners’ mental problems during detention. Following the PICO strategy, the search identifed a total of 5427 studies, of which, 79 studies were included in the fnal analysis. Substance use disorders were the most reported problem, followed by mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and personality and behavior disorders. A smaller number of studies reported anxiety and neurotic disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder and adjustment disorders, intellectual disorders, paraphilias and sexual disorders, attention-defcit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and somatoform disorders. Our fndings contribute to the scientifc knowledge about this group of inmates’ needs, emphasizing the prevalence of mental problems within this population and supporting both professionals and academics to reform policies and practices.
  • The validity of the Violence Risk Scale (VRS) in a Portuguese sample of remand prisoners
    Publication . Andrade, Joana; Gomes, Hugo S.; Abrunhosa Gonçalves, Rui; Wong, Stephen; Castro Rodrigues, Andreia de
    This study aims to test the psychometric properties of the Violent Risk Scale (VRS) in a sample of Portuguese remand prisoners. A total of 133 subjects participated in the present study. We carried out a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test the originally proposed two factor structure. Results showed evidence to support the VRS's psychometric qualities.The CFA tested the two-factor structure and showed evidence of the goodness of fit of the original two-factor model. Also, our findings indicated acceptable internal consistency for both sub scales. The correlational analyses supported both convergent and discriminant validity of the VRS. Finally, this study also tested known-groups validity. The VRS score showed a satisfactory postdictive accuracy, which means that it is able to demonstrate distinctive scores for groups known to vary on the variables being measured. We consider this work represents an essential support for decision-makers to evaluate the appropriateness of different judicial measures.