Mental Health and Quality of Life among Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) in the Province of Sultan Kudarat: A Descriptive Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11594/Keywords:
Mental health , Quality of Life , Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL)Abstract
Persons deprived of liberty often experience increased psychological distress and reduced quality of life as a result of incarceration-related conditions such as overcrowding, social isolation, and limited access to healthcare services. This study aimed to assess the mental health status and quality of life of persons deprived of liberty in selected jails within the province of Sultan Kudarat and to determine the relationship between these two variables. A descriptive–correlational research design was employed, utilizing validated instruments: the Adult Mental Health Continuum–Short Form and the WHOQOL-BREF. A total of 247 respondents were selected through stratified random sampling.
The findings revealed that most respondents were classified as flourishing in terms of mental health, with high scores in personal growth, sense of purpose, and emotional resilience. Overall quality of life was rated as good, particularly in domains related to interpersonal relationships and daily functioning, although relatively lower scores were observed in physical health and emotional well-being. A weak but statistically significant relationship (ρ = .167, p = .008) was found between mental health and quality of life.
These results indicate that, although mental health and quality of life are associated, other factors may also influence the overall well-being of this population. The study supports the development of a targeted mental health enhancement program aimed at improving rehabilitation outcomes and facilitating successful reintegration into society.
Downloads
References
Association for the Prevention of Torture. (2024). Mental health care in detention: Challenges and recommendations. https://www.apt.ch
Bonta, J. (2020). Theoretical foundations for the criminal justice system: Rehabilita-tion and reintegration. Criminal Justice Review, 45(2), 178–190.
Cummins, R. A. (2021). Quality of life: Theory and measurement. Social Indicators Re-search, 134(1), 17–27.
Fazel, S., & Yoon, I. A. (2020). Mental health of prisoners: A review. The Lancet Psychia-try, 7(4), 287–300.
Haney, C. (2021). The psychological impact of incarceration: Implications for prisoners’ mental health and recidivism. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 48(6), 674–689.
James, D. J., & Glaze, L. E. (2022). Mental health problems of prisoners and jail in-mates (Special report). Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov
Keyes, C. L. M. (2009). The science of subjec-tive well-being: An introduction. In C. L. M. Keyes (Ed.), Mental health and well-being: The mental health continuum (pp. 1–30). Springer.
Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2020). The Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) revisited: Psychometric properties and applications. Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(4), 455–463.
Lukat, J., Margraf, J., Lutz, R., van der Veld, W. M., & Becker, E. S. (2016). The Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH-scale): Devel-opment and psychometric properties. Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(5), 508–517. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137628
(Corrected to the actual original publica-tion and DOI)
Maruschak, L. M., Bronson, J., & Alper, M. (2021). Mental health problems of prison-ers and jail inmates (Special report). Bu-reau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov
Ramesh, A., Patel, V., & Choudhury, M. (2022). Mental health services in correctional set-tings: A systematic review. Journal of Fo-rensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 33(2), 121–134.
Ramones, M., Gubia-On, A., & Cagatao, P. (2023). Depression, anxiety, and stress among detainees: A study during the COVID-19 pandemic. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 56(1), 45–58.
Republic Act No. 11036. (2018). Philippine Mental Health Act. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph
Smith, A., & Patton, M. (2019). The impact of mental health services on prisoner reha-bilitation: A meta-analysis. Criminal Jus-tice and Behavior, 46(8), 1060–1078.
World Health Organization. (2022). WHOQOL-BREF: Introduction, administration, scor-ing, and generic version of the assessment. https://www.who.int
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Marie France Antoniette Sampiano-Dagnaus, Ross Ann G. Gomez, Elsie I. Montealegre
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access).
