Victimization and psychopathology prevalence’s in a sample of inmates in Cape Verde

The literature and research suggested that both victimization and psychopathology are in themselves two risk factors associated
with criminal recidivism. If on an international level, studies regarding the prevalence of prison victimization and on the prevalence
of mental disorders have proliferated in the last decades, in Cape Verde they are nonexistent. So, the present research resorts to an
inmate sample and aims to: characterize it regarding socio-demographic and criminal indicators and estimate either the prevalence
of victimization and of psychopathological indicators. The sample includes 402 inmates, approximately 25% of the inmate population of Cape Verde. Two self-report instruments were used: a questionnaire on socio-demographic, criminal and prison characterization and the Brief Symptom Inventory. The results indicated that a significant number of prisoners reported having suffered some
kind of violence in the prison context (37.1% reported having suffered some type of violence during their imprisonment and 21.4%
reported having suffered violence in the last 12 months) and revealed indicators of psychopathology (namely psychotic problems
and paranoid ideation). This study concludes that both victimization and mental health problems are present in inmates of Cape
Verde and stresses the need to implement a system to identify, evaluate and intervene in these phenomena in the prison context.
The eradication of victimization and the existence of mental health services and care, through the development and implementation
of procedures for the evaluation, intervention and monitoring of prisoners for their rehabilitation and social integration, should be
considered as guidelines to ensure safeguarded in the prison context and to promote high standard quality services.
Keywords: Victimization; Psychopathology; Prevalence; Inmates; Recidivism; Reintegration