Resilience as a predicator of mental health of incarcerated women. / Preznosc jako predyktor zdrowia psychicznego kobiet odbywajacych kare pozbawienia wolnosci.

OBJECTIVES: Serving a prison sentence is an experience that bears the hallmarks of a trauma. Scientific findings on how people handle traumatic The aim of the following research was to analyze the way in which psychological resilience differentiates mental states of incarcerated women and to identify the predicator of mental well-being in this group.experiences show that there are numerous personal and social resources that allow for better adaptation. One of the concepts used to describe the process reflecting relatively good adaptation is psychological resilience. METHODS: The study included women incarcerated in the External Department of Czersk Penitentiary for juvenile female offenders who serve a prison sentence for the first time and penitentiary recidivists. The following scales were used in the research: the Resilience Measurement Scale - RMS-25 and the HADS-M scale, which allows to conduct a test for symptoms of depression. RESULTS: The results revealed crucial statistical correlations between the results of the resilience scale and results of the HADS-M. It was also found that the predicators of anxiety and depression in the study group are the level of personal coping skills and tolerance of negative emotions (RMS-25). Additionally, a crucial factor in predicting the state of anxiety is the number of years of imprisonment. The conducted regression analysis also showed that the level of personal coping skills and tolerance of negative emotions (RMS-25) as well as openness to new experiences and sense of humor (RMS-25) are essential predicators of the level of aggression. CONCLUSIONS: The concept of psychological resilience is significant in analyzing the differences in mental health of incarcerated women and may help to create conditions that are conducive to reducing negative effects of prisoners staying in conditions of institutional constraint.

[Emotional self-control, coping with stress and psycho-physical well-being of prison officers]. / Samokontrola emocjonalna, radzenie sobie ze stresem a samopoczucie psychofizyczne funkcjonariuszy sluzby wieziennej.

BACKGROUND: Mental and physical health status is closely associated with the specific character of work in the structures of the uniformed services. The aim of the study was to examine how self-control, revealed strategies of coping with stress, sociodemographic factors differentiate the level of psychological and physical well-being of prison officers, and what is the predictor of psychological and physical well-being in this occupational group. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted in a group of 75 prison officers working in the Prison Potulice Security Department. In the study the following tools were used: the questionnaire on "Psychosocial working conditions", popular questionnaire on emotional intelligence (Popularny Kwestionariusz Inteligencji Emocjonalnej--PKIE), Measure Coping Strategies with Stress (Mini-COPE) and the questionnaire on sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: A higher level of mental and physical well-being of the subjects was accompanied by a higher level of declared active coping and a lower level in the range of helplessness, avoidance, turn to religion and sense of humor. Regression analysis showed that the levels of emotional control, helplessness strategy and support seeking strategies are important predictors of physical well-being of the dependent variable. As regards the psychological well-being, significant predictors are: the levels of emotional control, sense of humor and support seeking. The value of the results is limited due to the methodology used to collect questionnaires. In our study a random trial was not used as the questionnaires were completed only by individuals interested in the subject under study. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge about the specificity of the psychophysical characteristics of prison officers should be taken into account when designing the tools of occupational health promotion. Studies show an average low level of perceived well-being with a high level of self-control.