Dual harm: an exploration of the presence and characteristics for dual violence and self-harm behaviour in prison

Slade, Karen

doi:10.1108/jcp-03-2017-0017

Cited by 32 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Furthermore, this contradicts previous research which has found different determinants of harm to self and others ( 63 ). Despite this, more recent research has found that a large proportion of people who harm themselves also harm others, also known as ‘dual harm ( 64 ). This theory comes from evidence which suggests that these behaviors share similar risk factors ( 65 ), which is echoed in the current findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Words Don't Come Easy: How Male Prisoners' Difficulties Identifying and Discussing Feelings Relate to Suicide and Violence

et al. 2020

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Suicide and violence are prevalent within male prisons in the UK. It has been suggested that alexithymia may be associated with both suicide and violence. Alexithymia can be defined as an inability to identify or discuss emotions. The present study aimed to qualitatively explore male prisoners' experiences of alexithymia and how these experiences may relate to suicide and violence. Fifteen male prisoners were recruited from two prisons in the North West of England. All participants had experienced suicidal and/or violent thoughts and/or behaviors in the past 3 months, and all screened positive on an established measure of alexithymia. Participants took part in a qualitative interview during which they were also given the opportunity to provide drawings of their emotions. Data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis, with a collaborative approach taken between researchers and an individual with lived experience of residing in prison. The results indicated that male prisoners tended not to talk about their emotions with others, due to external pressures of residing in prison in addition to internal difficulties with recognizing and articulating emotions. Not discussing emotions with others was associated with a build-up of emotions which could result in either an emotional overload or an absence of emotions. Both experiences were perceived to be associated with hurting self or others, however, participants also identified a “safety valve” where it was acknowledged that using more adaptive approaches to releasing emotions could prevent harm to self and others. These findings suggest three main clinical implications; (1) a cultural shift in male prisons is needed which encourages open communication of emotions (2) individualized support is needed for those identified as experiencing a difficulty in recognizing and articulating emotions and (3) prison staff should encourage alternative ways of releasing emotions such as by using harm minimization or distraction techniques.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Words Don't Come Easy: How Male Prisoners' Difficulties Identifying and Discussing Feelings Relate to Suicide and Violence

et al. 2020

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show abstract

“…Suicide and violence represent a major concern in prisons with 87 suicides, 55,598 incidents of self-injurious behaviours and 34,223 assault incidents in England and Wales in 2018 (Ministry of Justice, 2019). Previous research on harm in prison has tended to focus on either harm to self (self-harm and suicide) or harm to others (violence and aggression), though more recently it has been recognised that it is important to focus on the duality of these risks (Slade, 2018(Slade, , 2019(Slade, , 2017. Slade (2018) has therefore advocated for further research to be conducted into the exploration of 'dual harm' in prisonerswhere an individual engages in both harm to self and harm to others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research on harm in prison has tended to focus on either harm to self (self-harm and suicide) or harm to others (violence and aggression), though more recently it has been recognised that it is important to focus on the duality of these risks (Slade, 2018(Slade, , 2019(Slade, , 2017. Slade (2018) has therefore advocated for further research to be conducted into the exploration of 'dual harm' in prisonerswhere an individual engages in both harm to self and harm to others. This argument is supported by previous research that showed a high proportion of prisoners who harm themselves will also harm others (Slade, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Slade (2018) has therefore advocated for further research to be conducted into the exploration of 'dual harm' in prisonerswhere an individual engages in both harm to self and harm to others. This argument is supported by previous research that showed a high proportion of prisoners who harm themselves will also harm others (Slade, 2018). Theoretical explanations for this co-occurrence include the notion that both destructive behaviours are caused by the same risk factors, with some suggesting that selfharm occurs when aggression 'turns inwards' (Plutchik et al, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prison staff’s views and understanding of the role of emotions in prisoner suicide and violence

Hemming

Pratt

Shaw

et al. 2020

The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology

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Suicide and violence are a major concern in prisons, and it has been suggested that alexithymia may be associated with these behaviours. Alexithymia can be defined as the inability to identify and describe emotions. This study aimed to explore staff's understanding and attitudes about identifying and discussing emotions in prisoner suicide and violence. Twenty prison staff across departments were interviewed about their understanding of how emotional difficulties contribute towards prisoner suicide and violence. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Analysis revealed five main themes and nine subthemes. Staff felt that prisoners struggled to identify, understand and communicate their emotions which led to intense and sudden outbursts of emotion. In turn, prisoners responded to these outbursts using two main maladaptive coping strategies; drug and alcohol use and harming self or others. This process was placed in a broader context of both upbringing and the prison environment. These findings therefore suggest that a change to prison regime and culture is crucial to encouraging prisoners to overcome difficulties with identifying, understanding and communicating emotions which, in turn, could help to reduce rates of suicide and violence in prison.

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“…A major challenge to confirming risk factors for dual harm has been the separation of violent and self-harm behaviours in both the academic and practice arenas, compounded by its distinction into the government arenas of 'justice' and 'health'. 2 This separation is based upon outcome, rather than cause, with the fields diverging and leading to conflicts within practice. In most settings, violence is met with punishment and containment to protect others; with self-harm requiring care and compassion to protect the client.…”

Section: Facing the Conflicts And Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual harm: an exploration of the presence and characteristics for dual violence and self-harm behaviour in prison

Cited by 32 publications

References 34 publications

Words Don't Come Easy: How Male Prisoners' Difficulties Identifying and Discussing Feelings Relate to Suicide and Violence

Words Don't Come Easy: How Male Prisoners' Difficulties Identifying and Discussing Feelings Relate to Suicide and Violence

Prison staff’s views and understanding of the role of emotions in prisoner suicide and violence

Dual harm: the importance of recognising the duality of self-harm and violence in forensic populations

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