Institutional Conditions and Prison Suicide: Conditional Effects of Deprivation and Overcrowding

National data on American prisons is used to examine the effects of deprivation, overcrowding, & their interaction on the likelihood of prison suicide. Findings provide substantial support for the hypothesis that overcrowding is a pivotal feature of prison environments that conditions the effects of deprivation. At low levels of overcrowding, minimum-security facilities evidence a lower probability of prison suicide, but at high levels, they are as likely to experience a suicide as their medium & maximum counterparts. Theoretical & policy implications of the findings are discussed. (65 refs.)