Association Between Employment and Mental Health Service Use Among Justice-Involved Individuals

Abstract

Using a nationally representative sample of justice-involved persons (N = 1525), the present study examined the extent to which employment status was associated with mental health service use by various service providers. The findings indicate that the rate of mental health service use by general health care providers among the unemployed was higher than that of the employed. Factors associated with mental health service use varied by type of provider. Our findings suggest that employment may be critical for justice-involved people in enhancing their mental health status, which could result in their successful community integration.

Keywords: Employment; Justice-involved individuals; Mental health; Mental health service use.