Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): A validation study among prisoners.

Background: There are numerous scales for screening cognitive performance and thus identification of any potential deficits, but in spite of the vulnerability of the prison population to such problems, there has been no adequate validation of screening tools specifically for use with prisoners or others in the criminal justice system.

Aim: To validate the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) for use with prisoners.

Methods: 100 adult prisoners in one Portuguese prison were randomly invited by clinicians to take part in this study.