Comparison of Spiritual Health, Psychological Well-being, and High-risk Behaviors among Young Prisoners Sentenced for Drug, Financial, and Theft Offences in Zanjan, Iran

The prison environment for young prisoners can be accompanied by different changes. The current study aimed at comparing spiritual health, psychological well-being, and high-risk behaviors among young prisoners sentenced for drug, financial, and theft offences in Zanjan, Iran.
The current descriptive-comparative study was conducted on the statistical population comprised of all prisoners within the age range of 18 to 35 years sentenced for theft, drug, and financial offences in Zanjan. Their number was 340. The sample size was calculated using the Cochran formula as 163 subjects. The subjects were selected by simple random sampling method and classified into three groups. The data collection instruments were high-risk behaviors, psychological well-being, and spiritual well-being questionnaires. The content validity and reliability of the questionnaires were assessed by Cronbach alpha. Data analysis was performed with SPSS version 24.
There was a significant difference in the religious indices among the studied groups, in such an extent that the average religious indices in the drug and theft groups were higher than those of the financial group (P Religious indices and high-risk behaviors were different in different individuals depending on the type of offences. Therefore, it is recommended to pay more attention to this issue in medical treatments and psychological counseling.