Perceived physical health, psychological distress and social support among prison officers

• Main Author: Harvey, Joel
• Published: University of Manchester 2007
• Subjects: 155
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.519627

This research examines perceived physical health, psychological distress and social support among prison officers. Specifically this study tests direct models, moderator models and mediator models of social support. The direct models allow an examination of whether social support (from a significant other and from within prison) has a direct effect on psychological distress. These models also allow an examination of whether perceived physical health has a direct effect on psychological distress. The moderator models examine whether social support (from a significant other outside prison or from within the prison) moderates the relationship between perceived physical health and psychological distress; and the mediator models examine whether perceived social support (now specifically within prison) mediates the relationship between perceived physical health and psychological distress. A total of 100 prison officers from a UK prison took part in this crosssectional study. The participants completed the Short Form-36 II (Ware, et al., 2002), the Significant Others Scale (SOS; Power et al., 1988), the Prison Social Support Scale (PSSS; a newly devised measure for this study) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12; Goldberg & Williams, 1988). The prison officers reported poor perceived physical health and a high proportion of officers (56.6%) reached caseness on the GHQ-12. There was evidence for a direct effect of perceived social support both from a significant other and from within the prison; however, social support within the prison was most strongly associated with psychological distress. There was also evidence for a direct effect of perceived physical health on psychological distress. There was also some evidence for a moderating effect of social support within the prison but there was no evidence for a mediating role of perceived social support within the prison. These results suggest that support from within prison is important to perceived physical health and Psychological distress. The limitations of the research are discussed before considering the research, clinical and organisational implications of the study.