“I Am Not Just a Prisoner”: the effects of social identification on well-being in Italy

Abstract

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Recent research on social cures has posited that one’s social identity associated with group membership can promote adjustment and affect well-being, especially for vulnerable individuals. In this study, we argue that, although the negative consequences of group-based stigma affect prisoners’ well-being, having multiple social identities can protect them and mitigate the detrimental effects of stigma. The results of this cross-sectional study reveal that group identification with prisoners (N = 52) was negatively associated with well-being and anticipated discrimination. In contrast, education was positively associated with self-regulation and life satisfaction. Group identification with prisoners threatens self-regulation when the salience is controlled. We discuss the significance of our findings in the context of stigma and resocialization.

Keywords

• stigma
• social identification
• well-being
• prisoner
• self-regulation