Quality of prison life, violence and mental health in Dubrava prison

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-10-2017-0047
• Published date: 29 August 2019
• Date: 29 August 2019
• Pages: 262-272
• Author: Mette Skar,Nicoline Lokdam,Alison Liebling,Alban Muriqi,Ditor Haliti,Feride Rushiti,Jens Modvig
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice

Quality of prison life, violence and mental

health in Dubrava prison

Mette Skar, Nicoline Lokdam, Alison Liebling, Alban Muriqi, Ditor Haliti, Feride Rushiti and

Jens Modvig

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between the quality of prison life and

mental health among prisoners and the occurrence of violence.

Design/methodology/approach –In total, 203 prisoners from Dubrava Correctional Center in Kosovo

participated.Data on backgroundcharacteristics of the prisoners,quality of prison life, mentalhealth symptoms

and exposure to physical, psychologicaland sexual violence were collectedthrough interviewer-administered

questionnaires. Data were analyzed usinggeneral linear models (GLM) and manual backwards model search

with step-wise exclusion.

Findings –The GLM analysis showed a significant negative association between anxiety symptom load

(−1.4), physical violence (−1.5) and psychological violence (−1.9), and quality of prison life. Furthermore, it

appeared that prisoners rating of quality of life (QoL) increased with time among prisoners not exposed to

violence, while this was not seen among prisoners exposed to violence. Finally, there was an inverse

association between the dimensions of respect, fairness, humanity and good staff/prisoner relations, and the

proportion of prisoners exposed to violence.

Originality/value –An environment with higher levels of respect, fairness, humanity and good relations

between staff and prisoners was associated with lower levels of violence. Hence, a prison that focuses on

promoting QoL and good mental health among prisoners will show lower levels of violence, thereby making

the prison a more tolerable place for the prisoners and a better working environment for prison staff.

Keywords Health in prison, Prisoners, Mental health, Violence, Psychological health, Prison

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Rates of violence, psychological distress, self-harm and suicide are high in most prison systems.

Scholarsoftheprisonhavewrittenagreatdealaboutthe“pains and deprivations of imprisonment”

(Cohen and Taylor, 1972; Liebling, 2011; Sykes, 1958), which impact negatively on the often already

fragile mental health of prisoners (Senior et al., 2013). According to international law, it is the

responsibility of the state to ensure the security and safety of prisoners and to make sure that torture

and other cruel and inhuman treatment do not occur, whether perpetrated by staff or by other

prisoners (United Nations, 1987). To fulfill this obligation, prison authorities need to fully understand

how the dynamics of prison life can lead to or inhibit violence. In the literature on prison violence,

emphasis has been placed on characteristics of the individual, institutional factors and aspects of the

prison environment (Arrigo and Milovanovic, 2009; Bierie, 2012; Hochstetler and DeLisi, 2005).

Individual factors include characteristics of the individual which are thought to be predictors of

violence, such as personality, behavior and criminal attitudes (Hochstetler and DeLisi, 2005).

Institutional or environmental factors include the treatment of prisoners and detainees, including the

use of disciplinary measures, communication style, the segregation of prisoners and staff

sub-cultures, as well as the physical conditions of detention, including living conditions, access to

health care and adequate personal space. However, an integrated approach has emerged in this

field, focusing on both “deprivation”or institutional factors and “imported”or individual factors and

Received 13 October 2017

Revised 19 September 2018

21 November 2018

25 January 2019

28 January 2019

Accepted 29 January 2019

Mette Skar and

Nicoline Lokdam are both

based at DIGNITY –Danish

Institute Against Torture,

Copenhagen, Denmark.

Alison Liebling is based at the

Institute of Criminology,

University of Cambridge,

Cambridge, UK.

Alban Muriqi, Ditor Haliti and

Feride Rushiti are all based at

Kosova Rehabilitation Centre

for Torture Victims (KRCT),

Prishtinë, Kosovo.

Jens Modvig is based at

DIGNITY –Danish Institute

Against Torture, Copenhagen,

Denmark.

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VOL. 15 NO. 3 2019, pp. 262-272, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200 DOI 10.1108/IJPH-10-2017-0047