Prison staff and women prisoner's views on self‐harm; their implications for service delivery and development: A qualitative study

Abstract

Differences between prison officers and other staff working in the prison in their understanding of self-harm by women prisoners may lie in training differences, but there may be other explanations such as self-protection/coping strategies. More training and support for officers may result in improved staff-prisoner relationships and thus, safer service provision.

Probation staff experiences of managing suicidal and self-harming service users

“…Internal functions included communicating feelings or expressing emotions such as frustration (Kenning et al, 2010;Pannell, Howells, & Day, 2003). However, staff interpretations of external motivation were sometimes based on negative stereotypes, with reference to 'manipulators' and 'attention seekers.…”

“…Information from prison studies indicates that staff often hold stereotypical attitudes towards repetitive self-harm and see it as a form of attention seeking and manipulation (Ireland & Quinn, 2007;Kenning et al, 2010;Liebling, 2002;Short et al, 2009). Furthermore, prisoners are aware of these negative attitudes which may cause further harm (Ciclitira, Adler, & Marzano, 2012).…”

Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Within Offender Populations: A Systematic Review

“…For instance, female offenders who selfinjured recounted more positive emotional shifts following NSSI, compared with those who attempted suicide (Chapman & Dixon-Gordon, 2007). In qualitative studies, female prisoners described using NSSI to achieve emotional relief (Kenning et al, 2010;Mangnall & Yurkovich, 2010). Similarly, among male inmates, the most common motive associated with NSSI was emotional release (31.6%) and desire to release anger (21.1%; Sakelliades et al, 2010).…”

“…Criminal justice settings differ from clinical settings in that the individuals on the front lines may have less training in dealing with mental health issues (Ivanoff & Hayes, 2001;Short et al, 2009). Perhaps due to this lack of training, correctional staff often regard NSSI as manipulative (DeHart et al, 2009;Dickinson, Wright, & Harrison, 2009;Fish, 2000;Haycock, 1989;Kenning et al, 2010). One study found that most prison staff resented offenders they believed to engage in NSSI for manipulation and viewed these offenders as less in need of help and support (Short et al, 2009).…”

“…In response to imagined NSSI episodes, Inmates that engaged in NSSI exhibited a decrease in physiological arousal Kenning et al (2010) United Kingdom N = 15 prison staff (60% female), 15 female inmates Inmates viewed NSSI as holding a function of emotional relief. Staff viewed it as manipulative Mangnall & Yurkovich (2010) United States N = 8 female inmates Qualitative responses revealed that female inmates used NSSI for emotion regulation purposes Sakelliadis (2010) Greece N = 173 male inmates The most common motives were emotional release (32%) and anger release (21%) Snow (2002) United Kingdom N = 143 inmates from 10 prisons who had engaged in NSSI or suicide attempt Those that engaged in NSSI were more likely to describe negative feelings as precipitating factors compared to those with a history of suicide attempt Downloaded by [University of Nebraska, Lincoln] at 08:42 05 October 2015…”