Abstract
The aim of this article is to assess the mental health status of inmates and people in custody in the state of Rio de Janeiro and the association between mental health and imprisonment using the Beck Depression Inventory and the Lipp Stress Symptom Inventory for Adults. 1,573 individuals, via stratified sampling with probability proportional to size. more than half have up to 29 years old; 70.6% were black/brown; 77.4% had strong family ties; 42.9% had been incarcerated for under a year; and 22,9% performed work tasks in prison. Stress: 35.8% of men and 57.9% of women. Factors associated with stress among men: length of time in prison and family ties. Male prisoners who had been in prison for between 1 and 9 years are 0.55 times less likely to experience stress symptoms than those who had been in prison for less than a year; those with regular/weak family ties are more likely to experience stress than those with strong ties. Women with only regular/weak family ties are more likely to experience stress; work tasks performed in prison was a protective factor. Depression: 7.5% of women and 6.3% of men. Among men, practicing a religion, maintaining strong family ties, and performing prison work tasks are protective factors. Among women, an association was found between depression and family ties.
Highlights
Brazil’s prison population in 2013, including people in police custody, was 574,027 inmates, which is equivalent to a national incarceration rate of 393.3 per 100,000 population
The findings showed that the prevalence of moderate and severe depression was higher among new prisoners, while mild depression was more prevalent in older prisoners, suggesting that inmates adapt to the prison environment over time
The results showed a statistically significant association between stress and the variables family ties (p = 0,04) and work tasks performed in prison (p = 0,01), which were maintained in the final model (Table 3)
Summary
Brazil’s prison population in 2013, including people in police custody, was 574,027 inmates, which is equivalent to a national incarceration rate of 393.3 per 100,000 population. Brazil has the second highest prison population in in the Americas after the United States[1]. According to the Superintendency of Human Resources of the Department of Prison Administration of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the state’s prison population was 38,762 inmates (95.4% male) in September 2014. Prisons in Brazil are characterized by a number of structural and procedural deficiencies that directly affect the health and rehabilitation of offenders. Studies have shown that factors such as inactivity, overcrowding, lack of health, social services, and education professionals, as well as precarious infrastructure and an insalubrious prison environment reinforce stigmas and breed iniquity and disease
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