Effects of Group-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Coaching Program on Depressive Symptoms in a Sample of Inmates in a Nigerian Prison.

Psychotherapy

May 2021

Full Citation

Eseadi, C., Obidoa, M. A., Ogbuabor, S. E., & Ikechukwu-Ilomuanya, A. B. (2018). Effects of Group-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Coaching Program on Depressive Symptoms in a Sample of Inmates in a Nigerian Prison. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 62(6), 1589-1602. doi:10.1177/0306624X16687046

Abstract

This study investigated the effects that a group-focused cognitive-behavioral coaching program had on depressive symptoms of a sample of inmates from Nsukka Prisons, Enugu State, Nigeria. The design of the study was pretest–posttest control group . The participants were 30 male inmates, experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms, and randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The primary outcome measure was depression symptoms as measured using Beck’s Depression Inventory. Repeated-measures ANOVA and the Mann–Whitney U Test were used for data analysis. Results show that exposing inmates to the group-focused cognitive-behavioral coaching program significantly reduced the depressive symptoms of inmates in the treatment group compared with those in the control group. Our results support the use of cognitive-behavioral coaching interventions designed to assist the severely depressed inmates in Nigeria. Further studies should be conducted both in other states of Nigeria and in other countries.