Psychosocial Quality of Life and Its’ Correlates in People Serving Prison Sentences in Penitentiary Institutions
| DOI | 10.1177/0306624X20944685 |
| Published date | 01 April 2021 |
| Date | 01 April 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
research-article2020
Article
International Journal of
Offender Therapy and
Psychosocial Quality of Life
Comparative Criminology
2021, Vol. 65(5) 590 –612
and Its’ Correlates in People
© The Author(s) 2020
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Serving Prison Sentences in
https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20944685
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20944685
journals.sagepub.com/home/ijo
Penitentiary Institutions
Bartłomiej Skowroński1
and Elżbieta Talik2
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to identify and analyze the determinants of prison
inmates’ psychosocial quality of life (PQol) as a positive and negative correlates.
Three hundred ninety prison inmates were recruited from the correctional facilities
administered by the Warsaw District Inspectorate of Prisons. Data were collected
by means of the SQLQ, SOC-29, SWS, SPI/TPI, SIPR, COPE, GSES questionnaires
and analyzed by means of SEM. The positive correlates for prison inmates’ PQol
are: sense of coherence, self-efficacy, intensity of religious attitude, social support,
and trait curiosity. Among the strategies of coping with stress, only seeking social
support for emotional reasons is a significant factor that directly predicts PQol.
Substance use and planning play only a mediating role in PQol prediction. The
negative correlate for inmates’ PQol is trait depression. Contrary to predictions,
anxiety is not a negative correlate—as noted above, it is associated with a positive
score on PQol.
Keywords
determinants of quality of life, psychosocial quality of life, quality of life in
prison, positive correlates for prison inmates’ qol, negative correlates for prison
inmates’ qol
1University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland
2The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Corresponding Author:
Bartłomiej Skowroński, Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialization, Faculty of Applied Social
Sciences and Resocialization, University of Warsaw, ul. Podchorążych 20, Warszawa, 00-721, Poland.
Email: b.skowronski@uw.edu.pl
Skowroński and Talik
591
Introduction
Studies on prisoners’ quality of life can contribute to knowledge on imprisonment and
yield ideas on what must be done to improve the humane treatment of offenders by the
criminal justice system. As some authors have noted, the experience of violence and
the fear of victimization in prison are associated with decreased well-being or QoL
(Baidawi et al., 2016; Wooldredge, 1999). Conducting research on prisoners’ quality
of life can contribute to minimize the harmful consequences of imprisonment
(Ginneken et al., 2018). This means maintaining a safe environment for the staff and
for prisoners is a key task for prison management service (Ginneken et al., 2018).
Quality of life (QoL) is a multidimensional concept, and there are many conceptu-
alizations of this idea. The most popular definition, proposed by the WHOQOL Group,
conceptualizes QoL as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the con-
text of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals,
expectations, standards and concerns” and as “a broad ranging concept affected in a
complex way by the person’s physical health, psychological state, personal beliefs,
social relationships and their relationship to salient features of their environment”
(WHO, 1997, p. 1). Some concept analysis studies have identified well-being as syn-
onymous with comfort, and quality of life as a related concept (Mandzuk & McMillan,
2005; Pinto et al., 2017).
In the comprehensive theory proposed by Straś-Romanowska (Straś- Romanowska,
2005; Straś-Romanowska & Frąckowiak, 2007), quality of life is defined as the con-
tent of life experiences, linked with their subjective cognitive and emotional evalua-
tion. This concept consists of four dimensions: psychophysical, personal, metaphysical,
and psychosocial. The psychophysical dimension is the biological basis for a sense of
identity, consciousness, volition, and other aspects human psychological experience
(Dolińska-Zygmunt & Mokrzyńska, 2013; Straś-Romanowska & Frąckowiak, 2007).
The personal dimension is associated with self-identity, the need for freedom, a sense
of individuality, self-determination, the need for creative activity, and self-realization
(Straś-Romanowska & Frąckowiak, 2007). The metaphysical dimension is connected
with the seeking of meaning in life despite the setbacks experienced. It is focused on
universal and transcendent values. Finally, the psychosocial dimension is associated
with the sense of safety resulting from adaptation to the environment.
There are some studies that have examined associations and/or predictors of QoL
among prison inmates. For example Carcedo et al. (2011) has investigated the differ-
ences in loneliness, sexual satisfaction, and quality of life between three groups of
prisoners: inmates in a heterosexual romantic relationship with a fellow prisoner,
inmates with a partner outside the prison, and inmates without a partner. After control-
ling for age, nationality, total time in prison, actual sentence time served, and esti-
mated time to parole, the results showed a lower level of romantic loneliness and a
higher level of sexual satisfaction and global, psychological, and environment quality
of life in the group of inmates with a heterosexual partner inside prison (Carcedo et al.,
2011). Cardeco et al. (2012) investigated the moderating effect of having vs. not hav-
ing a romantic partner and quality of life. In-person interviews were conducted with
592
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 65(5)
55 male and 64 female inmates from the Topas Penitentiary (Spain). The authors found
that higher levels of social loneliness and lower levels of sexual satisfaction were
associated with lower levels of quality of life. In addition, the interaction between
sexual satisfaction and romantic partner status was significant. Higher levels of sexual
satisfaction were associated with higher levels of quality of life only in the group with-
out a partner (Carcedo et al., 2012). Combalbert et al. (2017) tested the cognitive
performance of older male prisoners and its effect on their perceived health and quality
of life. These authors found no clear association between cognitive impairment and
perceived health or quality of life, which may appear surprising in that elderly people
with efficient cognitive functioning generally report a better quality of life than people
with cognitive deficits with or without dementia. The results reveal a very high preva-
lence of mental disorders, notably depression and anxiety, in older prisoners. Perceived
health and quality of life is also significantly lower in the group of older prisoners
(Combalbert et al., 2017).
Compared to both reference groups, namely general Dutch population and prison-
ers without psychopathology, prisoners with mental disorders had worse QoL scores
on all WHOQOL-Brief dimensions except the domains of Social Relationships (GDP)
and Environment (prisoners without psychopathology) (Zwemstra et al., 2009). Prost
et al. (Prost et al., 2019) used independent t-tests and correlational and regression
analyses to study the dimensions and correlates of QoL and differences between gen-
ders in QoL among persons serving prison sentences in a large jail in southeastern
United States (n = 299). They found all dimensions of QoL to be significantly related
to overall QoL; the dimension that contributed the most significantly to respondents’
overall QoL was psychological QoL. On average, women reported lower QoL than
men; the gender groups differed significantly differences in the physical health and
psychological domains. The authors also discuss the importance of psychological QoL
intervention and healthcare continuity.
The psychosocial dimension plays a special role in the context of prisoners. The
imprisonment leads to a decrease in inmates’ quality of life (Coid, 1993; Williams,
2003), mainly due to the deprivation of many important needs—above all, the need for
autonomy and freedom and the need for social contact (Dolińska-Zygmunt &
Mokrzyńska, 2013). Moreover, prisoners are deprived of factors that—as research
shows—increase the self-perceived quality of life, such as good material conditions or
high economic status (Dolińska-Zygmunt & Mokrzyńska, 2013). The lowered self-
perceived quality of life in prison inmates manifests itself, among other symptoms, in
increased anxiety and depression (Chmielewska-Hampel & Wawrzyniak, 2009) and in
decreased emotional intelligence (Dolińska-Zygmunt & Mokrzyńska, 2013).
The variables recognized as those which positive correlate with quality of life
has been empirically confirmed in other samples, namely: coherence, understood as
the sense of comprehensibility, meaningfulness, and manageability, which give a
person certainty that he or she will cope with life’s challenges (Antonovsky, 1993);
it is positively correlated with quality of life, for instance, in individuals suffering
from Parkinson’s disease (Gison et al., 2014) or schizophrenia (Gassmann et al.,
2013) and in cardiological patients (Silarova et al., 2012); self-efficacy—the belief
Skowroński and Talik
593
in one’s ability to cope in difficult situations (Bandura, 1993)—is a significant pre-
dictor of self-perceived quality of...
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