Using Power, Champion, and Aris's Significant Others Scale, the present study examined the function and structure of social support in a group of incarcerated young offenders. Support across nine key relationships from both outside and inside the prison were examined. The study aimed to examine social support as a key variable in coping with incarceration. Furthermore, the study examined the role that social support plays in the experience of self-reported psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and hopelessness) while incarcerated The importance of prison relationships-with a close friend and members of prison staff in the experience of psychological distress-was highlighted, where distressed inmates were more likely to report discrepancies in the actual/ideal levels of both emotional and practical support. Regression analyses highlighted the importance of relationships with the staff as predictors of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness.

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This research examines the relation between means-end thinking and psychological distress in a group of young, incarcerated Scottish offenders who exhibited difficulties in adjusting to the prison regime. Four groups of inmates were examined: (a) those placed in suicidal supervision; (b) those removed from main circulation and placed in protection; (c) victims of bullying who remained in main circulation; and (d) a group who had adjusted reasonably to the prison regime. The Means-End Problem Procedure (MEPS) was used in conjunction with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). Results suggested a hierarchy of problem-solving deficits and psychological distress that were both most pronounced in the inmates placed in suicidal supervision. Deficits in problem solving were also found to correlate with higher levels of distress. Analyses of covariance revealed the importance of the status of the individuals in relation to their adjustment to prison after controlling for age and the total amount of time spent incarcerated. The results are discussed in relation to possible interventions to promote adjustment to prison life among such vulnerable inmates.