EMOTION REGULATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AMONG INMATES OF CORRECTIONAL CENTRES IN BENUE NORTH-WEST SENATORIAL DISTRICT

Abstract

The psychological health of inmates is paramount for the effectiveness of the entire rehabilitation process. Inmates who are psychologically health are likely to be more reformed than those with psychological health issues. However, the drivers of psychological health among this population is not known. Therefore, this study investigated emotion regulation and psychological health among inmates of correctional centres in Benue North-West Senatorial District. The study adopted cross-sectional survey design. The participants for the study were 234 inmates of correctional centres in Benue State who were proportionately sampled. They consisted of 165 (70.5%) males and 69 (29.5%) females. Their ages ranged from 24-67years with a mean age of 45.65years (SD=14.204).The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale were used for data collection. Multiple Linear Regression was used for statistical analysis. The result shows that there was a significant influence of emotion regulation on psychological health; All the dimensions of emotion regulation; cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression significantly predicted psychological health. It was recommended that the management of correctional centres should adjust their rehabilitation programmes to include a module on emotion regulation skills training where qualified clinical psychologists will educate, guide and support inmates enrolled in this programme to build the emotional skills to modulate their emotional reactions to the day to day demands of incarceration.

Keywords: Emotional regulation, psychological health, inmates, correctional centres