Relationship Between Prison Physical Environment and Mental Health of Inmate. A Case of Marimanti G.K Prison in Tharaka Sub-County, Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya

The prison’s physical environment can be defined based on the size of spaces within prisons, including cells and shared areas, the design of buildings, size of doors and windows e.t.c. Mental health related problems keep increasing in the society and prisons are not exceptional especially due to incarceration challenges like isolation and exposure to violence. Due to this phenomenon, the researcher carried out research on the relationship between prison physical environment and the mental health of inmates. The study employed one theory, Environmental Determinism theory by Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904) which views the physical environment as deterministic in shaping human behavior. This study adopted a correlational research design. The study target population was 280 respondents and a sample of 80 respondents was randomly selected. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used as the research instruments. The reliability of the research instrument was enhanced through a pilot study at Chuka G.K Prison. Content and face validity was ensured in the instrument in this study through experts’ analysis. The study used a correlational study analysis; deploying multivariate regression analysis to examine the relationship between prison physical environment and mental health of inmates at Marimanti G.K prison. This was aided by the Statistical packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28. Several tests were done starting with the pre-test analysis using cronbanch’s alpha. Demographic analysis was performed using Anova and T-test. Anova test revealed that there existed no significance differences in mental health perception by age and educational level according to inmates. However, among prison staff while age is not significant, education differences are significant. A regression analysis was carried which established that physical environment was a statistically significant predictor of mental health among inmates. Basing on this analysis, physical environment emerged a critical predictor of mental health scores in the case of both inmates and prison staff. Quantitative data was presented by use of graphs and tables while qualitative data was presented as themes. Consistent with the existing literature, the findings affirmed that improvement in physical conditions such as reducing overcrowding, enhancing sanitation, and ensuring adequate ventilation can lead to significant enhancement in mental wellness among prisoners.