Family social support during incarceration: implications for health upon release
Abstract Incarceration is associated with adverse physical and mental health that are often brought to light during reentry into the community, particularly in the immediate period following release. Social support, specifically from family members, has been identified as a key protective factor tha...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11274-6 |
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| _version_ | 1849343869919952896 |
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| author | Chantal Fahmy Alexander Testa |
| author_facet | Chantal Fahmy Alexander Testa |
| author_sort | Chantal Fahmy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Incarceration is associated with adverse physical and mental health that are often brought to light during reentry into the community, particularly in the immediate period following release. Social support, specifically from family members, has been identified as a key protective factor that may promote health and reintegration success among formerly incarcerated individuals. However, less is known about how specific types of family support—emotional and instrumental—relate to health outcomes following release from incarceration. The current study uses data from 517 individuals incarcerated in a large Texas prison, surveyed before and approximately one month after release, to examine the relationship between family support and self-rated physical and mental health. Logistic regression models revealed that strong emotional family support was significantly associated with better self-rated physical health and mental health one month post-release. Additionally, strong instrumental family support predicted better mental health but not physical health among respondents. These findings highlight the crucial role of emotional and instrumental familial support systems in fostering and reducing health disparities and promoting equity among justice-impacted populations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3662e8ce417a4fb7936658cb490a26ef |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-3662e8ce417a4fb7936658cb490a26ef2025-08-20T03:42:49ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-011511910.1038/s41598-025-11274-6Family social support during incarceration: implications for health upon releaseChantal Fahmy0Alexander Testa1Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, The University of Texas at San AntonioDepartment of Management, Policy, and Community Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonAbstract Incarceration is associated with adverse physical and mental health that are often brought to light during reentry into the community, particularly in the immediate period following release. Social support, specifically from family members, has been identified as a key protective factor that may promote health and reintegration success among formerly incarcerated individuals. However, less is known about how specific types of family support—emotional and instrumental—relate to health outcomes following release from incarceration. The current study uses data from 517 individuals incarcerated in a large Texas prison, surveyed before and approximately one month after release, to examine the relationship between family support and self-rated physical and mental health. Logistic regression models revealed that strong emotional family support was significantly associated with better self-rated physical health and mental health one month post-release. Additionally, strong instrumental family support predicted better mental health but not physical health among respondents. These findings highlight the crucial role of emotional and instrumental familial support systems in fostering and reducing health disparities and promoting equity among justice-impacted populations.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11274-6 |
| spellingShingle | Chantal Fahmy Alexander Testa Family social support during incarceration: implications for health upon release Scientific Reports |
| title | Family social support during incarceration: implications for health upon release |
| title_full | Family social support during incarceration: implications for health upon release |
| title_fullStr | Family social support during incarceration: implications for health upon release |
| title_full_unstemmed | Family social support during incarceration: implications for health upon release |
| title_short | Family social support during incarceration: implications for health upon release |
| title_sort | family social support during incarceration implications for health upon release |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-11274-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chantalfahmy familysocialsupportduringincarcerationimplicationsforhealthuponrelease AT alexandertesta familysocialsupportduringincarcerationimplicationsforhealthuponrelease |