Abstract:

In 1939, Lionel Sharples Penrose proposed the hypothesis that the number of prisoners and the number of mental hospitals have an inverse relationship. The aim of this work is to look at the application of the Penrose hypothesis in Slovakia. Several studies have found that the decline in the number of psychiatric hospital beds has occurred at the same time as the increase in the number of prisoners. Using Pearson's correlation coefficient and a linear regression model, wedemonstrated the validity of Penrose hypothesis of an indirect relationship. The best availability of the network of psychiatric beds is in the east and south of Slovakia. It turns out that increasing the number of psychiatric beds may have its justification in Slovakia.