Research On Social Support For Criminals

Objectives: To explore the status of social support of criminals at the prison andthe relationship between social support and coping style，in order to provide theoreticalreference for promoting the social support systems.Methods: A total of110criminals were assessed with social support rating scale(SSRS) and coping style questionnaire (CSQ),and the crime types included violence,drug trafficking, economic crime，and the essential statistical analysis with SPSS17.0sotfware support。Results: Criminals of different marital status, criminal types, crime times,commute instance and external connection had significant differences on social supportand coping style. The scores of both objective support and subjective support weresignificantly lower than that of community residents. The differences were significanton all six factors of coping styles between criminals and staffs. Problem solving andhelping-seek had positive correlation with subjective support and support-utilizingwhile self-blame had negative correlation with subjective and objective support. Bothsubjective and objective support of educated above high school were higher than that ofeducated lower significantly. Subjective social support of married criminals wassignificantly higher than single criminals; however subjective social support of lust typecriminals was lower than that of economical criminals. Also, scores of SSRS of havinga criminal record lower than that of first offence criminals. External connections weresignificantly correlated with the scores of SSRS.Conclusions: criminals at the prison have serious social support, The adoption ofthe criminals using positive coping style is lower than the company workers,on thecontrary, The adoption of the criminals using negative coping style is higher than thecompany workers. The criminals who tend to use positive coping style with the degreeof social support is higher than the groups who use the negative coping style. Thedegree of education decide the level of objective support and subjective support.Married criminal social support condition is better than the others. The social support condition of first offenders is better than the re-offenders. The lower educated, lust typeand having a criminal record should be concerned in the prison work.