Mental health and drug use in Spanish prisons. A socio-educational and gender perspective

Abstract

The aim of the work is to analyse the relationship between different situations and self-perceptions associated with mental health problems and drug use, in a qualitative and quantitative research, having as a national sample surveyed 310 (30.1%) women prisoners in semi-freedom. The analyses were: descriptive statistics, independence contrasts, Fisher test and odds ratio. The results indicate that 73.2% have felt/suffered some mental health problem, with few being diagnosed and receiving mainly pharmacological treatment; likewise 51.6% have consumed drugs. Participation in specific programmes is very low. All these situations call for improved prison intervention and the need to implement and promote socio-educational action through comprehensive programmes that encourage greater participation, with content that is consistent with reality and from a gender perspective, which will have an impact on social reintegration.