THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PSYCHO-EDUCATION ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF SPOUSES OF INCARCERATED MALES IN IBADAN, NIGERIA.

Abstract

     Spouses of incarcerated males experience physical strain as a result of the imprisonment which later endangers their general sense of  psychological well-being. The study examined the effectiveness of psycho-education training in the enhancement of   the psychological well-being of spouse of incarcerated males in Ibadan, Nigeria. Using the pre-test and post-test quasi experimental research design, a total of 16 spouses of male inmates in Ibadan participated in the study.  The ages of the participants ranged between 29 years to 50 years with mean age of 40.56years and standard deviation of 5.92years.  Data collection for the intervention study was through the use of questionnaires. T-test for repeated measure was used to test the hypothesis. Result showed that psycho-education training (i.e. intervention) had significant effect on the psychological wellbeing of partners of prisoners at post-test (t = -2.67; df = 14; P<.05), than at pre-test (t = 0.96; df = 14; P>.05). This implies that psycho-education intervention has a significant impact in improving the well-being of these spouses of incarcerated males. It was therefore suggested that relevant organizations should consider continuous introduction of psycho-education for long term effect in improving the well-being of female partners of prisoners.