Fear of COVID-19, Mental Health and Resilient Coping in Young Adult Male Inmates: A Portuguese Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Inmates are highly exposed to mental and physical disorders. Therefore, periodic screening of their mental health and other health risks is required. This study aims to investigate the perceived fear of COVID-19 and the psychological impact of the pandemic in a sample of young adult male inmates. An institutional-based quantitative cross-sectional study design was performed. Data collection took place from July to September 2022 at a juvenile prison in the central region of Portugal. Data were collected using questionnaires on demographic and health characteristics; fear of COVID-19; depression, anxiety and stress levels; and resilient coping. The sample included 60 male inmates imprisoned for over 2 years. Stress was the most common symptom among inmates (75%), followed by anxiety (38.3%) and depression (36.7%). The mean score on the Fear of COVID-19 Scale was 17.38 ± 4.80, indicating relatively low fear levels. Low resilient scores were found in 38 participants (63.3%). Participants reported moderately high ranges of 3.62 ± 0.87 regarding mental health perception, 3.73 ± 0.95 for physical health perception, and 3.27 ± 0.82 for global health concerning the previous month. The Pearson correlation matrix indicated significant and moderate to strong correlations between fear of COVID-19 and mental health-related variables (p < 0.001). The predicting factors of fear of COVID-19 were identified by deploying a multiple linear regression model. We found four predictors: age, perception of mental health, and overall levels of anxiety and stress (R2 = 0.497). Fear of a given scenario or factor may shift with time. Therefore, long-term research is needed to evaluate whether fear of COVID-19 is adaptive or long-reactive in victims. Our study can assist policymakers, mental health and public health experts, and others in recognizing and managing pandemic-related fears and mental health symptoms.