Social Support and Mental Health in Adult State Prisons

• In Event: Risk Factors for Mental Illness

Abstract

Although researchers highlight the positive effects social support may have on mental health outcomes, there is limited research on this relationship among adult prisoners. Specifically, in this article, I explore how social support (e.g. family and friend visitation, support group participation, prison program participation) affects the likelihood of a prisoner being diagnosed with a mental illness since entering prison. I use logistic regression with data from the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Prisons to model this relationship. Results show that visitation restrictions, participation in religious activities, support groups, and contact with family and friends predict the probability of being diagnosed with a mental illness while in prison. These findings demonstrate the importance of social support on mental health outcomes for prisoners while incarcerated and have implications for visitation policies, methods of punishment utilized and funding for programs within prisons.

Author

• Sade Lindsay, The Ohio State University