PERCEPTIONS OF THE SELF-IMAGE OF WOMEN IN DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the factors associated with the perception of self-image in women deprived of their liberty. This is an analytical cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. Two research instruments were used in women deprived of their liberty in a female prison in Aparecida de Goiânia/GO, a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Body Self Image Scale, which evaluates the concern of this variable in young people and adults. Forty-five inmates were interviewed, whose average age was 34.6 years, ranging from 20 to 55 years. They are mostly married (62.2%), with at least one child (82.2%), and about 51.1% had completed elementary school. According to the scores measured by the Body Self-Assessment Scale, it was identified that the majority (75.6%) of the interviewees did not present image distortion, and a severe distortion was detected in only 4 of them, representing 9.8% of that population. When cross-referencing the information, no significance was found between the sociodemographic data and changes in body self-image. However, regarding the personal aspects of the interviewees, it was possible to evidence that the lowest distortion scores were found in women who performed personal care (p = 0,0088), considered themselves beautiful (p = 0,0445) and were satisfied with their own bodies (p = 0,0029). The results showed that the variable directly linked to the distortion of body self-image in the interviewees is, in fact, of personal nature, being little linked to socioeconomic sternum factors, although these cannot be ignored. The women who reported little appreciation for personal care were the same ones who claimed not to be satisfied with their own body, therefore, presented a higher rate of distortion of self-image. Supporting the fact that the internal factors of each woman overlap with the precarious prison environment.