[Do drug using inmates have social support?: A case study in an Andalusian prisons].

OBJECTIVES To discover and compare the social support received by drug-dependent inmates in a drug free program and other inmates participating in a methadone maintenance program (MMP). MATERIALS AND METHODS Transversal descriptive observational study carried out at Albolote Prison (Granada). The prison population at the time of the study was 1,763 inmates. The drug addicts were divided into two groups: those in a methadone maintenance program (MMP, 279 inmates) and those participating in a drug free program (58 inmates). A random sample of 60 inmates in the MMP was obtained. All the members of the drug free program participated. The two groups were interviewed to discover more about their family structure, socio-economic level and qualifications. The MOS social support survey was also used in a self applied format with assistance from the interviewer. The percentages obtained from each dimensionof the MOS questionnaire for each group was compared using Pearson's chi-square test. RESULTS The social network of the MMP group was a mean 13.2. In the drug free group it was 12.9. Value of p= 0.0047. Global support was low amongst 38 individuals (74.5%) in the MMP group and 9 (15.62%) in the drug free program. It was normal amongst 13 subjects (25.5%) in the MMP group and amongst 49 (84.38%) in the drug free group. Value of p=0.0001. All the dimensions of the MOS social support survey are higher amongst the drug free group: there are statistically significant differences with the MMP group. CONCLUSIONS Inmates in the drug free program have (and they perceive this to be the case) a greater degree of social support than participants in the MMP.