Depressão e enfrentamento de adversidades em pessoas sob condição de privação de liberdade

Abstract

This dissertation aimed to investigate the occurence of depressive symptoms and the usage of coping strategies in people arrested for the first time in the prison system. In addition, it sought to understand, from the perspective of the person deprived of liberty, repercussions of his first experience in prison and his expectations for the future. Three studies were performed. The objective of the first study was an integrative review of the literature on depression and factors associated with its occurrence in prisoners. In the results, it was found that the occurrence of depression was evident in all articles evaluated. Sociodemographic, institutional, and social support factors also had a significant relationship with symptoms of depression in prison. In study two, the objective was to analyze, through the free word evocation technique and from the inducing terms “prison” and “future”, the way the individuals already sentenced (G2) and provisional (G1) perceived the confinement. The results indicated that both groups perceived the prison as a place of physical and mental illness. The third study aimed to investigate the occurrence of depressive symptoms and to analyze the coping strategies used by individuals in their adaptation process to the first incarceration. Regarding the results, it was observed that the CESD-R screening scale identified most participants with the presence of depressive symptoms. It was also found that participants who used the Planning strategy were about two and a half times more likely to have positive symptoms of depression in prison. Finally, it is expected that these studies may contribute for reducing of mental health damage of people deprived of their liberty, as well as assisting the development of actions for increasing protective factors and reducing depression in prison.