17057 The Role of Mindfulness, Religiosity and Post-Traumatic Growth in the Development of Psychological Well-being among Former Detainees Convicted of Violent Extremism in Malaysia

R2a-1

Abstract

Detainees encounter a broader range of traumatic incidents that occurred and persisted for an extended duration as they may be exposed to social disadvantage, domestic violence, substance abuse and discrimination. However, this may apply differently across different individuals due to personal resilience that may be affected by selected psychological factors. Hence, this study was conducted with the aim of exploring the impact of mindfulness, religiosity and post-traumatic growth (PTG) on psychological well-being (PWB) among former detainees convicted of violent extremism in Malaysia. This study recruited four participants who were previously convicted of violent extremism using the snowball sampling technique. This study employed a phenomenological study research design. The qualitative approach considers the subjective perception of the participants’ experience in light of their arrest and life experiences after being released from prison. This study used theory-led thematic analysis (TA) to analyse the data from the semi-structured interview and descriptive analysis to accurately capture the experiences and perspective through scores of the participants from the scales that used to further understand mindfulness, religiosity, Post-Traumatic Growth, and Psychological Well-Being. This study found that higher levels of mindfulness, religiosity, and PTG contributed to improved psychological well-being, with ex-detainees using personalized processes to facilitate this growth. Hence, future research can build on these findings to explore key aspects of mindfulness, religiosity, and PTG in the rehabilitation and reintegration of former detainees.