Prevalence and Comparison of Mental Disorders among Administrative Staff and Warders of the Central Prison of Sistan and Baluchestan

Purpose: To examine and compare the prevalence of different types of mental disorders among the administrative staff and warders of the central prison of Sistan and Baluchestan. Materials and Methods: The study population included all employees of Zahedan general office of prisons. The sample consisted of 100 employees, of whom fifty individuals worked in various administrative units of Zahedan general office of prisons and fifty were warders and selected randomly. Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results: The results indicated no statistically significant difference in mental health components between the two groups of administrative staff and ward staff (P = .05). However, there was a statistically significant difference between women and men, considering the mental health components (P = .01), thus, women working in the prison were suspected of having somatic symptoms, while men working in the prison were suspected of having social dysfunction symptoms. However, the difference between the two groups of men and women was not significant with regard to anxiety symptoms and depression symptoms (P = .05). Conclusion: It seems certain that preserving mental health is as important as physical health. Therefore, given the prison staff’s occupational sensitivity, necessary interventions could be exerted through formulating such plans as methods for coping with stress. This can help promoting their general health, while carrying out necessary assessment of staff’s mental health is also important in order to manage and control potential problems.