Mental Health, Stigma, Gender, And Seeking Treatment: Interpretations And Experiences Of Prison Employees

Background: Social and personal stigma surrounding mental disorders among public safety personnel (PSP), including correctional staff, is undergoing a process of transformation. We examined how diverse Canadian prison staff interpret mental health and treatment seeking.Methods: We conduct a secondary analysis of existing data collected through an anonymous on-line survey of 1,017 Canadian prison staff. Attitudes towards mental health and stigma were measured. Participants were also asked how likely they would be to seek help for a mental disorder. Comparisons between self-reported males and females and different occupational groups within prison were made using Mann-Whitney U statistics and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a Bonferroni correction.Results: Male participants (38.6% of the sample) were significantly more likely (p<0.001) to display stigma towards individuals with mental disorders and significantly less likely (p<0.001) to be willing to get treatment if they developed a mental health problem. We also found significant differences between prison staff based on occupation.Conclusions: Female participants and wellness staff report the most positive attitudes towards mental health and mental health treatment, yet some stigma still exists regarding mental disorders. Correctional staff are concerned about the impact of seeking treatment on their employment.