Coping Strategies and Depression among Male Inmates of a Nigerian Correctional Facility: A Cross-sectional Study

This was a two-stage cross-sectional study involving 269 inmates of Calabar Prison, Nigeria. Participants were administered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Coping Strategies Inventory-Short Form, and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Respondents who scored ≥3 on the GHQ-12 together with 10 of low scorers proceeded to the second stage for an interview using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The prevalence of depression among study participants was 30.5. Emotion-focused disengagement coping strategies (odds ratio [OR]: 1.12, 95 confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.20) and a history of mental illness before imprisonment (OR: 3.4, 95 CI: 1.34-8.57) significantly predicted depression, whereas problem-focused engagement was protective (OR: 1.92, 95 CI: 0.86-0.98). Compared to the general population, depression is more common among prison inmates and is associated with using specific coping strategies. Coping strategies deserve increasing consideration when planning mental health intervention programs for this population.