Is Adjustment in Addicted Female Prisoners Important for the Community Health?

Background: Addiction is one of the major public health concerns in different societies, with consequences at individual and social levels. Imprisonment followed by reduced adjusment can be among addiction consequences. Adjusment conforming to changes and adapting oneself to the environment such that self-actualization is maximized. Adajusment are influenced by the previous character, culture and social expectations. This study aimed to examine adjustment in addicted female prisoners.

Methods: This descriptive study recruited 130 addicted female prisoners in a prison in the southeast Iran. Data were collected by a demographic characteristics questionnaire and Bell Adjustment Inventory.

Results: Results indicated that the mean adjustment score was 97.78 ± 14.17 while 96.4% of the women had low adjustment, such that their job, affective and health adjustment were at a very low level (47.70%, 91.50%, 58.5 % and 68.50% respectively) And in terms of social adjustment were often retiring(46.9%). The level of adjustment showed a significant difference among female prisoners in terms of job, age, and prison record, the number of children and history of physical illness in the past month (p≤0.05).

Conclusions: Most women were found to have poor levels of adjustment. This issue can be a major barrier to correcting and reforming female addicts in prison because the low level of adjustment reduces their tendency to learning and establishing relationships and interacting with others. Non-adjustment can be due to violent character of female prisoners and failure to address women's psychological and affective issues. Hence, it is imperative to offer necessary trainings to reinforce adjustment, especially affective, social and health adjustment. Further quantitative and qualitative studies are also suggested for finding appropriate interventions to reduce risky behaviors and promote health in women.