Suicidal ideation among female inmates: A cross-sectional study

Due to their complex mental health needs, female inmates comprise a particularly vulnerable group, at an elevated risk for suicide. Although suicidal ideation—the early stage in the trajectory towards suicidal behavior—represents a valid target for suicide prevention, there has been little research devoted to this outcome among female inmates. In order to address this void […]

Differences between inmates who attempt suicide and who die by suicide: Staff-identified psychological and treatment-related risk factors

Suicidal behavior occurs at much higher rates in correctional facilities than in the community, yet little is known about factors that distinguish inmates at risk for attempting versus dying by suicide. Individuals in the current study included 925 inmates housed in 2 large U.S. jails and 8 state correctional systems who attempted (79.5%) or died […]

Increased risk of suicide attempts and unintended death among those transitioning from prison to community in later life

OBJECTIVE: The number of individuals transitioning from correctional facilities to community in later life (age ≥50 ) is increasing. We sought to determine if later-life prison release is a risk factor for suicidal behavior and death by accidental injury, including drug overdose. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicare healthcare […]

The suicidal inmate: A comparison of inmates who attempt versus complete suicide

The aim of this study was to identify risk factors distinguishing inmates who attempt suicide from inmates who complete suicide. Compared with attempters, completers tended to be older, male, more educated, and married or separated/divorced; pretrial, committed for a violent crime, incarcerated in jail, housed in an inpatient mental health unit or protective custody setting, […]

Suicide screening tools for use in incarcerated offenders: A systematic review

Self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales, recently reported as the highest in over a decade, are a significant cause of mortality. A lack of guidelines surrounding the screening and identification of suicide risk of new prisoners along with a dearth of effective screening tools indicate the need for review. Our aims are to […]

Looking behind the bars: Emerging health issues for people in prison.

There are more than 10 million people imprisoned worldwide. These individuals experience a higher burden of communicable and non-communicable disease, mental health and substance misuse problems than the general population and often come from marginalized and underserved groups in the community. Prisons offer an important opportunity for tackling health problems in a way that can […]

Ambulance attendances resulting from self-harm after release from prison: A prospective data linkage study.

Incarcerated adults are at high risk of self-harm and suicide and remain so after release into the community. The aims of this study were to estimate the number of ambulance attendances due to self-harm in adults following release from prison, and to identify factors predictive of such attendances. Ambulance attendances resulting from self-harm following release from […]

A qualitative study of good-bye letters in prison therapy: Imprisoned women who self-harm.

Abstract. Background: Self-harm rates among imprisoned women in the UK are extremely high and there are limited psychological therapies available to support them in prison. This paper presents women’s subjective accounts of receiving good-bye letters at the end of brief psychodynamic interpersonal therapy (PIT) and how these letters positively impacted on their incidents of self-harm. […]

Prevention of suicidal behavior in prisons.

Worldwide, prisoners are at high risk of suicide. Research on near-lethal suicide attempts can provide important insights into risk and protective factors, and inform suicide prevention initiatives in prison. Aims: To synthesize findings of research on near-lethal attempts in prisons, and consider their implications for suicide prevention policies and practice, in the context of other […]

Childhood abuse, nonsuicidal self-injury, and suicide attempts: An exploration of gender differences in incarcerated adults.

The relationship between types of childhood abuse, suicide attempts, and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) was examined in a sample of 415 incarcerated adults (268 men, 147 women). Men and women were equally likely to experience childhood abuse, although women were more likely to report sexual abuse and men were more likely to report emotional neglect. Sexual […]

Active and passive suicidal ideation in older prisoners.

Journal copy held in CSP Library.

The interpersonal theory of suicide applied to male prisoners.

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The impact of contact with suicide-related behavior in prison on young offenders.

Journal held in CSP Library.

Swiss prison suicides between 2000 and 2010: Can we develop new prevention strategies based on detailed knowledge of suicide methods?

Journal held in CSP library.

Characteristics of inmates who received a diagnosis of serious mental illness upon entry to New York State Prison.

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Suicide prevention in correctional facilities: Reflections and next steps.

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National study of jail suicide: 20 years later.

Findings from a national study of jail suicide are provided, including the extent and distribution of suicides in holding and detention facilities, and descriptive data on demographic characteristics of each victim, incident, and facility. Among significant findings are that suicides were evenly distributed from first few days of confinement to over several months of confinement, […]

Risk-related and protective correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury and co-occurring suicide attempts among incarcerated women.

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Anger as a predictor of psychological distress and self-harm ideation in inmates: A structured self-assessment diary study.

Suicidal ideation and behaviour are common among inmates. Anger is found at exaggerated levels and has been associated with suicidal ideation and behaviour in inmate samples suggesting its possible salience in the prediction of suicide. The study investigated relationships between anger, psychological distress, and self-harm/suicidal ideation among inmates. Elucidating the temporal nature of the relationship […]

Comparisons of prisoners who make or do not make suicide attempts and further who make one or multiple attempts.

Among 1,537 prisoners, 200 (13%) had a lifetime history of attempting suicide and 92 (6%) had made multiple attempts. Those who had made multiple or single attempts were compared on socio-demographic, developmental, personality, forensic, and psychiatric variables. In a re-analysis we also compared non-attempters with attempters in this larger sample. The comparison showed that prisoners […]

Management of suicidal and self-harming behaviors in prisons: Systematic literature review of evidence-based activities.

The purpose of this study was to systematically analyze existing literature testing the effectiveness of programs involving the management of suicidal and self-harming behaviors in prisons. Multi-factored suicide prevention programs appear most effective in the prison environment. Using trained inmates to provide social support to suicidal inmates is promising. Staff attitudes toward training programs were […]

Risk of dying by suicide inside or outside prison: The shortened lives of male offenders.

Purpose: To determine the death rate among offenders, especially by suicide, inside and outside prison. Methods: A follow-up of 1,025 inmates over the period from 1995 to 2006 was conducted by searching the computerized records of correctional services and coroner files for data on suicidal behaviour and death. Results: There were 47 deaths (4.59%) from […]

Impact on prisoners of participating in research interviews related to near-lethal suicide attempts.

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