PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH STATUS OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE BORSTAL TRAINING INSTITUTION, ILORIN, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Young people (10-24 years) comprise about a third of Nigeria's population. Some of the young people initiate objectionable deviant behaviours and are subsequently remanded in Borstal Training Institutions (BTI) for rehabilitation after trial and prosecution. However, studies conducted in Nigeria among delinquent young people in BTI have not adequately explored their health status. This research was therefore conducted to determine the physical and psychological health status of delinquent young people being rehabilitated in the BTI, Ilorin.A cross-sectional survey of the 133 inmates remanded in the BTI was conducted. The institution caters for only male offenders who are sentenced by the court of law for an initial period of three years. A semi-structured questionnaire was utilized to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics and history of common health symptoms experienced three months preceding the study. Psychological health status was determined using the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ12) which assesses psychological health status on a 12-point scale giving minimum and maximum obtainable scores of 0 and 12 respectively. Psychological health status was categorized as well being (<4) and distress (>4). Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated and categorized as underweight (<18.5 Kg/m2), normal weight (18.5 - 24.9 Kg/m2), overweight (25.0 - 29.9 Kg/m2) and obese (>30 Kg/m2). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Spearman rank correlation at p = 0.05.The mean age of inmates was 18.9+2.2 years. Various offences included abuse of psychoactive substances (65.5%), armed robbery (39.8%), 'being beyond parental control' (6.0%) and recurrent involvement in street fights (0.8%) led to been remanded. The mean duration of stay in the institution was 1.3+0.8 years. About 57.9% reported that they had at least one symptom such as catarrh (46.8%), fever (42.9%), headache (40.3%), body pain (40.3%), and chest pain (23.4%). Health record in the institution clinic in the 3-month preceding the study showed that fever and headache were the most commonly reported symptoms. Also, 51.9% of those who reported at least a symptom sought health care at the institution clinic. Majority of the respondents (83.4%) had normal BMI, 11.3% were underweight and 4.5% overweight. Overall, 43.6% of respondents were psychologically distressed. Seventy-seven percent were able to concentrate on their day-to-day activities, 72.9% felt they were capable of making decisions about things, 68.5% reportedly ''lost sleep'' as a result of worry, while 36.8% lack self confidence and 36.1% felt unhappy and depressed. There was a negative correlation between BMI and psychological health status of respondents (r = -0.234, p> 0.05). More of the respondents (50.8%) who abused psychoactive substances were psychologically distressed (43.9%) (p> 0.05). More of the respondents who had spent more than two years in the institution were underweight (15.6%) compared with those who had spent less than two years (9.9%). Inmates of the Borstal Training Institution experienced poor physical and psychological health. There is need to improve their physical and psychological health status by strengthening counseling activities in the institution.