Mental Health Disorders and Suicidal Behaviors Among Provincial Correctional Workers

Abstract

Objective: We examined the prevalence ofmental health disorders and suicidal behaviors (ideation, planning, and attempts) among a sample of provincial correctional workers in Manitoba. Methods: Self-reported mental health data from a survey on correctional worker mental health and well-being were analyzed for 491 correctional workers. Results: Over half (57%) of respondents screened positive for mental health disorder, most commonly major depressive disorder, and over one-third of respondents (37%) screened positive for more than one disorder. Positive mental health screens for all mental health disorders were associated with statistically significantly increased odds of lifetime suicidal ideation, and positive screens for most disorders were associated with past year suicidal ideation. Conclusions: Relative to other public safety personnel and the general public, correctional workers appear have a higher prevalence of mental health disorders and suicidal behaviors. The association between positive screens for mental health disorders and suicidal behaviors highlights the vulnerability of correctional workers in regards to mental well-being.

Provincial correctional workers: Examining the relationships between alcohol use, mental health disorders, and suicide behaviour.

“…Again, a high prevalence of problematic alcohol use was noted among those with past-year suicide ideation (18.0%), as well as lifetime and past-year suicide plans (23.0% and 6.6%, respectively). Taking the starting point from previous scholarship, which illustrates how correctional workers have a high prevalence of mental health disorders and suicide behaviours (Ricciardelli, McKendy, Jamshidi, et al, 2022), our research reveals how mental health disorders were 2021) also found that some correctional workers experiencing suicide thoughts and behaviours would seek help from their family doctors, a psychologist, or Employee Assistance Program (EAP), but the lack of perceived organizational supports and recognition of the issues by the employers also hindered the treatment and help-seeking process. This is an important consideration for future research, as more studies are needed to unpack the relationships between substance misuse and suicide behaviours, and the other organizational factors (both protective and aggravating) that may be shaping these relationships.…”

“…Moreover, correctional workers routinely experience exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs), referring to operational stressors unique to the correctional or public safety environment that can be psychologically traumatic (i.e., prisoner violence, threats, self-injury, suicide attempts, and deaths) or events similar to those experienced by the general population (Carleton et al, 2020; Ricciardelli, Mitchell, Taillieu, et al, 2022). Such occupational strains and potentially psychologically traumatic exposures have been found to produce problematic mental health outcomes, including alcohol use disorder and its associated symptoms, coping mechanisms, and behaviours (Konyk et al, 2021; Ricciardelli, McKendy, Jamshidi, et al, 2022; Ricciardelli, Mitchell, Taillieu, et al, 2022).…”

“…Mental health disorders are associated, to varying extents, with suicide behaviours (Stanley et al, 2016). This is evinced among correctional workers who were more likely to report lifetime and past-year suicidal behaviours if they screened positive for mental health disorders, and even more so when they screened positive for two or more mental health disorders (Ricciardelli, McKendy, Jamshidi, et al, 2022). In a national Canadian sample of correctional workers, participants showed a lifetime prevalence of 35.2% for suicide ideation, 20.1% for suicide planning, and 8.1% for attempted suicide (Carleton, Afifi, Turner, Taillieu, LeBouthillier, et al, 2018).…”

“…Violanti (2004) also describes the relationship between alcohol use, mental health, and suicide for police officers as tied to PPTE exposures that increase the prevalence of PTSD, which in turn increases the prevalence of alcohol use or misuse and thus increases the risk for suicidal ideations. Correctional workers are more apt to screen positive for mental health disorders and suicide behaviours in comparison to most other public safety personnel (Ricciardelli, McKendy, Jamshidi, et al, 2022). For instance, they appear twice as likely as police officers to die by suicide (Peittaro, 2015).…”

Mental Health Burden and Burnout in Correctional Workers

“…Over half (57%) of respondents screened positive for mental health disorder, most commonly major depressive disorder, and over one-third of respondents (37%) screened positive for more than one disorder. Positive mental health screens for all mental health disorders were associated with statistically significantly increased odds of lifetime suicidal ideation, and positive screens for most disorders were associated with past-year suicidal ideation [28].…”