Oral hygiene behavior and its relationship with perceived stress and coping styles among prison inmates

Abstract

Background: Prison conditions and the confinement would have a considerable amount of stress on the inmates. This undue stress build-up and improper coping skills may lead to maladaptive behaviors. Aim: To determine oral hygiene behavior among prison inmates; and to correlate the oral hygiene behavior with stress level and coping styles of the inmates. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional. A prison in Northern India was randomly selected for the study, and appropriate official and ethical approvals were obtained from concerned authorities. Questionnaires were utilized to collect information about oral hygiene behavior, stress level and coping styles of the inmates. The questionnaires ware pretested and appropriate changes were made to improve the comprehensibility. Results: A great majority of the inmates (88%) clean their teeth, and more than two-third (69%) of them clean their teeth once or more daily. The perceived stress level for inmates was moderately high, and adaptive coping was the predominant style to cope with the perceived stress. There was positive correlation between adaptive coping styles and positive oral hygiene behavior. Conclusion: Desired oral hygiene behavior was related to adaptive coping style among prison inmates.

Keywords: Oral hygiene behavior; Stress; Coping; Prison inmates.