People with serious mental illness are disproportionately represented among prison/jail populations. Mental health courts (MHC) serve as an alternative to incarceration. In this study, we explore the extent to which MHC participants have members of their social network who were reported as having a history of arrests. Multilevel logistic regression demonstrated friends who used drugs, race, and network density were all predictive of MHC participants’ friends who have a history of arrest. Results demonstrate an association between MHC participation and arrest among individuals in their social network. Given the importance of social support in recovery from mental illness and in desisting from crime, such limitations can be problematic. MHC participants may be disinclined to engage with the very individuals who are able to provide social and emotional support.

患有严重精神疾病的人在监狱/监狱人口中的比例过高。心理健康法庭 (MHC) 可以替代监禁。在这项研究中，我们探讨了 MHC 参与者在其社交网络中被报告有逮捕史的成员的程度。多级逻辑回归表明吸毒的朋友、种族和网络密度都可以预测 MHC 参与者有被捕史的朋友。结果表明，MHC 参与与社交网络中个人被捕之间存在关联。鉴于社会支持对精神疾病康复和消除犯罪的重要性，这种限制可能会带来问题。