Visitations While Incarcerated: Effects on Self-Efficacy, Social Support, Stress, and Moral Disengagement

Abstract

This research examines the relationship between family visitations and key psychosocial factors, including perceived social support, stress, moral disengagement, and self-efficacy, among incarcerated individuals. Grounded in Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, the study poses family visitations as an important environmental factor affecting the psychological experiences of inmates. Using validated psychological scales, the study explored whether more frequent visitations correlated with higher perceived social support and self-efficacy, lower stress and moral disengagement, and if these variables mediated the relationship between visitation frequency and self-efficacy. While a significant relationship was found between visitation frequency and perceived social support, no meaningful relationships were observed on self-efficacy, stress, or moral disengagement, nor was there evidence that the relationship between visitation frequency and self-efficacy was mediated by the other measured constructs. Participants exhibited high levels of stress and self-efficacy, likely reflecting adaptive coping strategies. A notable link between stress and moral disengagement supports the idea that emotional strain disrupts moral regulation. However, no relationship emerged between social support and moral disengagement. The findings suggest that while family contact may enhance perceived support, its broader psychosocial effects may be limited. Future research should investigate the stress and moral disengagement relationship, utilize longitudinal designs, and assess the quality of familial interactions to better understand the dynamics in incarcerated populations.