Jail Climate and Wellbeing: Predictors of Hope Among Women Deprived of Liberty in Manila City Jail

While Hope theory posits that people link their present condition to create an imagined future, jail climate and inmates’ wellbeing are undeniable present factors that could predict their imagined future. Hence, the researchers hypothesized that jail climate predicts incarcerated person’s wellbeing, and wellbeing predicts inmates’ hope. Using Structural Equation Modelling, a model of hope from jail climate, physical wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing has been tested. The researchers administered jail climate, wellbeing, and hope scales to 225 female inmates. The results showed that relationships among inmates, safety and order, and meaningful activities as jail climates predicted physical and psychological wellbeing, and hope. Moreover, jail climate exclusively has predicted physical wellbeing while meaningful activities exclusively predict hope. Implications for the results were discussed.