The role of socioeconomic status in the relationship between detention and self-rated health among prison detainees in Belgium.

Prisoners are known to report worse health than the general population. Research has also shown that the prison population counts disproportionally more people with a lower socioeconomic status (SES), making it difficult to determine whether the worse self-reported health of prisoners is an effect of their detention or of their lower SES. This study assesses the influence of being in prison on self-rated health and if (and how) this relationship is mediated by SES.