[Our social dilemma: prison or psychiatric hospital? Is the Penrose thesis valid for Hungary at the turn of the millennium?].
BACKGROUND
According to the Penrose's law, outlined on the basis of a comparative study of European statistics, there is an inverse relationship between the number of psychiatric beds and prison population in a given country.


OBJECTIVE
The paper examines the relationship between the number of psychiatric beds and prison population in Hungary in the period of 1990 and 2005.


METHODS
Data are taken from the databases of the Central Bureau of Statistics. To analyze the relationships among the data, mathematical statistical methods are applied.


RESULTS
An inverse relationship between the number of psychiatric beds and prison population is seen in Hungary, too. The number of involuntarily treated patients has risen in parallel with the increase of the prison population and has shown an inverse relationship with the number of psychiatric beds.


CONCLUSIONS
Both the prison and the treatment in a psychiatric department are presented for the public as applicable segregation techniques in order to give a response to a social phenomenon. On the basis of data, it can be assumed that the members of pretty much the same population are confined to both systems. To get to the core of essential relationships of the phenomenon, a nationwide examination seems to be necessary.
Kalapos
Miklós Péter
MP
Budapest és Józsefvárosi Egészségügyi Szolgálat, VIII. TAMASZ Gondozó, Elméleti Biológiai Kutatócsoport, Budapest. MKalapos@freestart.hu
D016208:Databases, Factual; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011330:Prisons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*