Introduction

 The concept of stress has been identified as a major syndrome

of modern society.
 Even though some stress may be helpful for individuals in
meeting new challenges, persistently high and unrelieved stress
can lead to psychological, physical and behavioural ill-health.
 In the last two decades, many reports have revealed that the
level of stress in prison inmates is increasing dramatically.
 Ogundipe (2006) found that an increased level of stress in
prison inmates had serious implications in relation to the
inmates’ well-being.
 Gacad and Babiera (2002) pointed out that, high levels of stress
will lead to low health promoting behaviours especially if the
inmate had a less well-developed life events when they arose.
 Available information shows that those incarcerated in prisons
are at increased risk for mental health disorders and suicidal
ideation at a rate disproportionately higher than in the general
community (Case, 2007; WHO, 2009).
 The annual report of the national Human Rights Commission
(2013) exposes the decaying condition of Nigerian prisons
service and its inmates.
 Prison inmates are terribly treated and because of this, attempts
at jail breaks are rampant in Nigeria (Genga-Ogundare, 2008).
 Indeed, the situation in the Nigerian prisons service is so
pathetic. Worst of all, its structures and logistics have
experienced centuries of neglect that have made the prisons at
this time to be moral equivalent to hell (Ogundipe, 2006).
 Against this backdrop, this study investigates stress and health
promotion behaviours among inmates in prisons’ correctional
centres in Benue State, Nigeria.
 Statement of the Problem
 Prison inmates in Benue State and elsewhere in the world have
been experiencing severe stress.
 The stress prison inmates perceive daily affects their health
promotion behaviours.
 For instance, it is well known that some prison inmates do often
adopt unhealthy behaviours as a means of relieving the tension
they experience on account of the stress they face in order to
regulate their mood.
 The real experience of people who are incarcerated in prisons
within Benue State remained undocumented.
 Aim and Objectives of the Study
 The aim of the study is to explore stress and health promotion
behaviours among inmates in prisons’ correctional centres in Benue
State. The objectives are:
 To examine the relationship between stress and health promotion
behaviours of prison inmates.
 To examine the significant main and interaction effects of sex,
duration of stay in prison and category of prisoner on stress levels
among prison inmates in Benue State.
 To determine the significant main and interaction effects of sex,
duration of stay in prison and category of prisoner on health
promotion behaviours among prison inmates in Benue State
 To ascertain the difference in the stress levels of prison inmates
arising from different sources.
 To explore possible areas of intervention for reducing stress and
identify proactive strategies for encouraging positive health
promotion in inmates in prisons’ correctional centres.
 Significance of the Study
 The outcome of this study will draw attention to the ways in
which prison inmates will maintain a healthier lifestyle to cope
with, and prevent stress.
 The result of this study will also provide valuable information for
health professionals in primary healthcare contexts by offering
them a practical framework for promoting the health of prison
inmates.
 The study will also inform the future state and commonwealth
stress health promotion policy in identifying proactive strategies
for encouraging positive health promotion in inmates in prisons’
correctional centres.
 Literature Review
 Literature will be reviewed based on the following headings:
 The Concept of Stress
 Concept of Health and Health Promotion
 Stress and Prison Inmates
 Health Promotion Behaviours and Prison Inmates
Theoretical Framework
 Pender’s Health Promotion Model (PHPM)
 This framework is derived from Social Learning theory and Health
Belief Model.
 PHPM is an attempt to explain the multidimensional nature of
one’s interaction with their environment in relation to their health
and health promotion behaviours.
 Lazarus and Folkman (1984) stated that the judgment of whether
a particular person environment relationship is stressful depends
on the cognitive appraisal by the individual.
 Research Methodology
 The Study Area

The study will be conducted in Benue State which is located

in the North Central Geo-political zone of Nigeria. Benue
state is deemed appropriate for the study because of the
existence of three prisons in the state. They include, Makurdi
Prison, Gboko Prison and Otukpo Prison. All of them house
both the convicts and awaiting trial inmates.
 Research Design
The study will employ ex-post facto survey design to
estimate the relationship between stress and health
promotion behaviours of prison inmates in Benue State.
 The Study Population

The population of the study will include inmates who are

serving various jail terms in Makurdi Prison, Gboko Prison
and Otukpo Prison in Benue State..
 The Sample Size
 300 questionnaire will be administered to respondents in
3 prisons in Benue State.
 The Yamen’s (1967) formula will be used to get the
sample size:

 Where n = sample size

 N = total population
 E = level of significance (0.05)2
 The population of Makurdi Prison is 815 (Prisons Record
Department, 2017).
 The population of Gboko Prison is 289 (Prisons Record
Department, 2017).
 The population of Otukpo Prison is 93 (Prisons Record
Department, 2017).

 The questionnaire will be administered to the selected prisons
based on their population.

 = 299.81 = 300
  Makurdi Prison

 Gboko Prison


 Otukpo Prison

 Therefore, a total of 300 questionnaires will be issued to
the respondents in the 3 prisons in Benue State.
 Sampling Method

Purposive sampling technique will be used to select the

participants. Prison inmates will be purposively selected for
the study because they are considered to be typical of the
population to be the sample.
 Instrument for Data Collection
 Daily Stress inventory (Brantely and Jones, 1989) and
Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II (Waker, Segerist and
Pender, 1987)
 Procedure for Data Collection
 The researcher and trained assistants will solicit for help
from Prison Officers in the administration of the
questionnaires.
 Data Analysis
 Data collected will be analyzed using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.
 Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages,
mean and standard deviation will be used to analyze
demographic data.
  Inferential statistics involving Pearson’s Product Moment
Correlation, Univariate Analysis of Variance and One-way
ANOVA will be used to test the hypotheses.
 Ethical Considerations
 Ethical approval will be obtained from the controller of
Nigerian Prisons Service, Benue State Command.
 Individual consent for participation will be obtained
through a participation information sheet, which will be
administered by the researcher or research assistants to
the participants.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
 STRESS AND HEALTH PROMOTION BEHAVIOURS AMONG
INMATES IN PRISONS’ CORRECTIONAL CENTRES IN BENUE
STATE

BY

DR. SAMUEL TERZUNGWE ANHANGE

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, BENUE STATE

UNIVERSITY, MAKURDI