Ifeagwazi Chuka Mike, Nwokpoku Emeka E, Chukwuorji JohnBosco Chika, Eze John E, Abiama Emmanuel Ekpedoho
Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria.
Int J Prison Health. 2020 May 7;16(2):151-164. doi: 10.1108/IJPH-02-2019-0009. Epub 2019 Oct 22.
The modern prison system is not only a necessity to keep the public safe but also a mode of punishment for crimes. The correctional role of prisons is hampered in situations of mental illness, given that mental illness in the prison or correctional setting is a serious security risk. Few studies have given attention to the modifiable factors that may influence the mental health status of prison inmates, especially in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate emotion regulation (ER), dispositional mindfulness and duration of stay as factors in somatic symptoms among prison inmates.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Participants were 209 prison inmates drawn from a prison in Eastern Nigeria, who completed measures of ER (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), mindfulness and somatization.
Results of a hierarchical multiple regression indicated that cognitive reappraisal predicted somatic complaints but it was only among older prison inmates, while expressive suppression was not a significant predictor of somatic complaints. Dispositional mindfulness was a negative predictor of somatic complaints among younger and older prison inmates. Duration of stay in prison positively predicted somatic complaints among prison inmates in emerging adulthood only (younger inmates), but not among older inmates.
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Frequent use of cognitive reappraisal strategy of ER by prisoners may not always be productive in reducing somatic complaints, and the length of time in prison may influence somatic symptoms especially for younger prisoners. The possible benefits of incorporating mindfulness-based therapies in psychosocial interventions to reduce somatic complaints in correctional settings deserves further investigation.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: To date, there is limited research on somatic complaints of prisoners in the developing societies, particularly the psychosocial factors that may contribute to mental health problems.
现代监狱系统不仅是保障公众安全的必要手段，也是一种犯罪惩罚方式。鉴于监狱或教养机构中的精神疾病是严重的安全隐患，监狱的矫正作用在精神疾病情况下会受到阻碍。很少有研究关注可能影响监狱 inmates 心理健康状况的可改变因素，尤其是在发展中国家。本文旨在调查情绪调节（ER）、特质正念和监禁时长作为监狱 inmates 躯体症状的影响因素。
设计/方法/途径：参与者为来自尼日利亚东部一所监狱的209名监狱 inmates，他们完成了ER（认知重评和表达抑制）、正念和躯体化测量。
分层多元回归结果表明，认知重评可预测躯体不适，但仅在年长的监狱 inmates 中如此，而表达抑制并非躯体不适的显著预测因素。特质正念在年轻和年长的监狱 inmates 中均为躯体不适的负向预测因素。监禁时长仅在成年早期的监狱 inmates（年轻 inmates）中正向预测躯体不适，而在年长 inmates 中并非如此。
研究局限/启示：囚犯频繁使用ER的认知重评策略在减少躯体不适方面可能并不总是有效，且监禁时长可能影响躯体症状，尤其是对年轻囚犯而言。在心理社会干预中纳入基于正念的疗法以减少教养机构中躯体不适的潜在益处值得进一步研究。
原创性/价值：迄今为止，关于发展中社会囚犯躯体不适的研究有限，特别是可能导致心理健康问题的心理社会因素。
