Psychological wellbeing, distress and coping in Australian Indigenous and multicultural prisoners: a mixed methods analysis

Abstract

The Australian prison population is growing and becoming increasingly diverse. Yet very little research has investigated mental health concerns for multi-cultural prisoners. This mixed methods study aimed to identify the prevalence of mental health factors (wellbeing, distress and coping) in a cohort of 530 prisoners from Indigenous, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and English-speaking backgrounds (ESB) at a maximum-security prison in Victoria, Australia. Focus group interviews were also conducted with an additional 40 prisoners. It was found that Indigenous prisoners had significantly higher levels of distress and more symptoms of anxiety and depression than CALD and ESB prisoners. CALD prisoners had a greater sense of ‘feeling in control’ in prison than ESB prisoners. The focus group interviews also identified several factors that contributed to mental health differences between the groups. Findings reinforce the need for a more individualised approach in addressing mental health issues for prisoners cross-culturally.

Key words:

• Aboriginal
• cultural and linguistic diversity
• distress and coping
• Indigenous
• mental health and wellbeing
• prisoners

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the staff at Port Phillip Prison and the prisoners who participated in this research and to Dennis Roach and Jacinta Connor for their contributions to the research. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of G4S Australia or the Government of Victoria.

Notes

Notes

1 The rate of Indigenous incarceration varies across different states and territories in Australia, from 8% in Victoria to 84% in the Northern Territory (Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS, 2015).

2 Scores above 12 on the Impression Management subscale suggest that a participant is probably being dishonest and may be presenting a ‘false’ favourable impression (faking good) (Paulhus, 1998).