Social support, trauma and mental wellbeing experiences of imprisoned men in Northern Ireland

Many of the men reported perceived social support, which they found to be beneficial. Family members were cited as the most frequent source of this perceived social support. Interestingly, regression analysis of the survey data revealed that most trauma types were not found to be significantly associated with the men’s scores on a measure of perceived social support, a surprising finding given the literature often points to trauma negatively impacting perceived social support.

Yet, crime-related trauma was significantly associated with lower perceived social support. While experiences of crime-related trauma tended not to be discussed by the men in their interviews, many of the men identified physical and sexual trauma as impacting on their social support and ability to develop supportive relationships with others. The regression analysis also found that factors like age, sentence length, and substance use history were significantly associated with perceived social support, as well as mental wellbeing which was positively associated with perceived social support.<br><br>Surprisingly, no significant relationship was found between mental wellbeing and the different types of trauma, which is notable given the literature often points to trauma negatively impacting mental wellbeing.

Another factor, such as a history of mental health issues, may be a more important consideration for these men, as reporting a mental health history was found to be negatively associated with mental wellbeing. Perceived social support from friends was associated with increased mental wellbeing, demonstrating its potential benefits. Other factors were also identified as being associated with mental wellbeing which are discussed later in this thesis.

The implications for policy and practice are also considered which include suggestions for how to more effectively promote perceived social support, respond to the trauma needs of the men and promote their mental wellbeing.