Barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in Northern Norway
Abstract Background Incarcerated individuals have poor mental health compared to the general population. Social support has a beneficial effect on mental health. The buffering model proposes that social support facilitates coping under stressful conditions, while the main effects model suggests that...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e43a8f6bc063479387d7e9b404991ab1 2023-05-15T17:43:24+02:00 Barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in Northern Norway Line Elisabeth Solbakken Rolf Wynn 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00895-5 https://doaj.org/article/e43a8f6bc063479387d7e9b404991ab1 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00895-5 https://doaj.org/toc/2050-7283 doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00895-5 2050-7283 https://doaj.org/article/e43a8f6bc063479387d7e9b404991ab1 BMC Psychology, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2022) Prison Incarcerated Social support Mental health Recidivism Psychology BF1-990 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00895-5 2022-12-31T01:57:32Z Abstract Background Incarcerated individuals have poor mental health compared to the general population. Social support has a beneficial effect on mental health. The buffering model proposes that social support facilitates coping under stressful conditions, while the main effects model suggests that belonging to social networks and having positive social interactions are beneficial for mental health. Prisons are a highly interesting context for studying social support, as imprisonment is perceived as stressful and disrupts social relationships and the availability of support. This study aims to explore incarcerated individuals' perceptions of social support from various sources in the transition from community to prison, its perceived significance for mental health, and the opportunities and barriers to accessing social support in a Norwegian prison context. Methods The experiences of eight incarcerated individuals from a prison in Northern Norway were gathered through conducting individual in-depth interviews. The data analysis was inspired by Charmaz’s version of Grounded Theory. Results Social support from peers was perceived to be important for the well-being and preserving of mental health in prison. Support from informal sources outside prison and prison officers were not granted the same significance by the participants. Although prison life was perceived as stressful, social support in the form of companionship, the feeling of belonging, shared activities, and everyday conversations were more important for the participants than support focusing on coping with the stress of incarceration. Conclusions Peers are perceived to be the most important source of social support, and vital for well-being and mental health in prison. Barriers to support from family, friends and prison officers may amplify the significance of support from peers. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Norway Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway BMC Psychology 10 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Prison Incarcerated Social support Mental health Recidivism Psychology BF1-990 |
spellingShingle |
Prison Incarcerated Social support Mental health Recidivism Psychology BF1-990 Line Elisabeth Solbakken Rolf Wynn Barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in Northern Norway |
topic_facet |
Prison Incarcerated Social support Mental health Recidivism Psychology BF1-990 |
description |
Abstract Background Incarcerated individuals have poor mental health compared to the general population. Social support has a beneficial effect on mental health. The buffering model proposes that social support facilitates coping under stressful conditions, while the main effects model suggests that belonging to social networks and having positive social interactions are beneficial for mental health. Prisons are a highly interesting context for studying social support, as imprisonment is perceived as stressful and disrupts social relationships and the availability of support. This study aims to explore incarcerated individuals' perceptions of social support from various sources in the transition from community to prison, its perceived significance for mental health, and the opportunities and barriers to accessing social support in a Norwegian prison context. Methods The experiences of eight incarcerated individuals from a prison in Northern Norway were gathered through conducting individual in-depth interviews. The data analysis was inspired by Charmaz’s version of Grounded Theory. Results Social support from peers was perceived to be important for the well-being and preserving of mental health in prison. Support from informal sources outside prison and prison officers were not granted the same significance by the participants. Although prison life was perceived as stressful, social support in the form of companionship, the feeling of belonging, shared activities, and everyday conversations were more important for the participants than support focusing on coping with the stress of incarceration. Conclusions Peers are perceived to be the most important source of social support, and vital for well-being and mental health in prison. Barriers to support from family, friends and prison officers may amplify the significance of support from peers. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Line Elisabeth Solbakken Rolf Wynn |
author_facet |
Line Elisabeth Solbakken Rolf Wynn |
author_sort |
Line Elisabeth Solbakken |
title |
Barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in Northern Norway |
title_short |
Barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in Northern Norway |
title_full |
Barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in Northern Norway |
title_fullStr |
Barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in Northern Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
Barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in Northern Norway |
title_sort |
barriers and opportunities to accessing social support in the transition from community to prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated individuals in northern norway |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00895-5 https://doaj.org/article/e43a8f6bc063479387d7e9b404991ab1 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Northern Norway |
genre_facet |
Northern Norway |
op_source |
BMC Psychology, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00895-5 https://doaj.org/toc/2050-7283 doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00895-5 2050-7283 https://doaj.org/article/e43a8f6bc063479387d7e9b404991ab1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00895-5 |
container_title |
BMC Psychology |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766145460005765120 |