Everyday life of Special prison hospital forensic patients: Sociological study

Abstract

In this study, we have analyzed the Special Prison Hospital in Belgrade forensic patient’s narratives about everyday life. The primary objective of the analysis was to describe the daily routine and its meanings for patients. During the analysis two broad research objectives have emerged: to identify the key problems of everyday life of these people, and mark the need for further investigation of this issue. Specifically, subject everyday life of psychiatric, and particulary, of special patients, insuffitiantly dealt with in the foreign and in home scientific literature. Their everyday life is burdened by uniformity, formally offered amenities not acceptable to them and typical mechanisms and strategies for survival to overcome boredom. Institutional setting offers a rare pleasure: food, sleeping and socializing. Findings of our study confirm this portray. We have been observing typical day spending patterns of 50 forensic patients: getting up, going to breakfast, resorting to escape strategy - sleeping, going to lunch, escape strategy - sleeping and / or socializing, dinner, escape - socializing and / or sleeping. It turned out that formally offered contents - social and psychotherapy, and work assignments, are neither useful nor acceptable to them. Thay rarely participate in occupational therapy, more common in group therapy, a mandatory work assignments and paid tasks are performed solely by those - who must, since thay have no other income. The reason for non-acceptance of these practices are their inadequacy. For example, they believe that occupational therapy activities degrade them. Similary, the work assigments are imperatively imposed, execution is closely monitored. Everyday life in the institutional setting in the total hierarchically organized institution is colored with a range of deprivation. Their privacy, security and hope are deprived. Summed up, these findings reveal a number of critical points in the daily routines of forensic patients. They are: the inadequacy of formally offered activities for the adult population, and the mechanisms that may lead patients to be more active in informal sphere. Finally, we noted the need for further exploration of these issues which we have barely scratched the surface off.