Self-Esteem of Imprisoned Female Addicts: Is it Important to Community Health?

Abstract

Background: Drug use causes inappropriate behaviors in women that are quite different from those in men. Social deviations, prostitution, high-risk sexual behaviors, abortion, divorce, imprisonment, followed by loss of self-esteem are consequences of women's addiction. Self-esteem is a basic human need that is present in all aspects of life, even in stressful situations. Self-esteem is the degree of self-approval and self-worth an individual regards for himself/herself. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate self-esteem of imprisoned female addicts. Method(s): The present study recruited 130 imprisoned female addicts in a prison in southeast Iran. Data were collected using demographic and Rosenberg's self-esteem questionnaires. Result(s): The results obtained showed that mean overall self-esteem was poor in these women (10.23+/-4.32), and 84.6% of them had low self-esteem, and none had high self-esteem. Women's self-esteem was significantly different according to the duration of their imprisonment (P 0.05). Conclusion(s): Low self-esteem score may be due to women's psychological problems, and their feeling of failure and humiliation in life. Furthermore, women have a more fragile morale than men. Their illegal behaviors, probably due to financial and domestic problems, leads to loss of self-esteem in them. Thus, educational programs for improving women's psychological characteristics and boosting their self-esteem, especially in female prisoners are essential. It is recommended that further studies find the reasons for women's high-risk behaviors and strategies to reduce them, so as to improve family and community health.