Self-harm and suicidal behaviour among incarcerated adults in the Australian Capital Territory

Abstract

BackgroundSuicide is the leading cause of death in prisons worldwide. Improved understanding of the factors associated with suicide is necessary to inform targeted suicide prevention and interventions. Here we aim to (a) document the prevalence of suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and mental disorder; and (b) identify demographic, mental health, and criminal justice correlates of suicidal ideation, in a sample of incarcerated adults in Australia.MethodsData were obtained from the 2016 Detainee Health and Wellbeing Survey conducted in the Alexander Maconochie Centre, the Australian Capital Territory’s only adult prison. Interviews with 98 incarcerated adults were conducted in October 2016. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all measures. Crude differences between participants who reported experiencing suicidal ideation in their lifetime and those who did not were compared using Fisher’s exact test.ResultsNearly half of the participants (48%, n = 47) reported lifetime suicidal ideation and 31% (n = 30) reported attempting suicide at some point in their lives. Eighteen participants (18%) reported a lifetime history of having engaged in self-harm. Factors significantly associated with suicidal ideation included lifetime history of mental disorder, self-harm, experiencing a drug overdose, and being hospitalized in the past 12 months.ConclusionThe burden of suicidal ideation and prior suicide attempts among people in prison is substantial. Incarceration is a pivotal opportunity to identify people with a history of mental health problems and target interventions aimed at reducing adverse outcomes including suicide mortality.

Adverse childhood experiences: a retrospective study to understand their associations with lifetime mental health diagnosis, self-harm or suicide attempt, and current low mental wellbeing in a male Welsh prison population

“…Levels of ACE exposure reported by participants were substantially higher than those measured in the Welsh general population, with 84.4% of male prisoners reporting at least one of the 11 ACEs measured and 45.5% reporting ≥4 ACEs; compared with 46.3% (at least one ACE) and 11.9% (≥4 ACEs) respectively in males in the general population (Hughes et al 2018). Consistent with other international studies (Butler et al 2018), reported levels of lifetime mental illness diagnoses, self-harm or suicide attempt among prisoners were also elevated compared to general population levels (Hughes et al 2018). Despite our study excluding those that were currently being managed due to risk of selfharm or suicide attempt, one in five participants reported lifetime self-harm whilst in prison and one in ten reported lifetime suicide attempt.…”

“…However, low MWB is associated with vulnerability to mental illness alongside poorer health outcomes and behaviours (Howell et al 2007;Stranges et al 2014). Studies evidence a higher prevalence of current low MWB, mental illness and self-harm amongst those incarcerated than the general population (Fazel et al 2016;Kariminia et al 2007;Tweed et al 2018Tweed et al , 2019, whilst suicide is the leading cause of death in custody globally (Butler et al 2018). In England and Wales, rates of selfharm in the male adult prison population have been increasing, with over 43,000 incidents reported in the year ending September 2018; a rate of 540 incidents per 1000 prisoners (Ministry of Justice 2019).…”

Mental illness and HIV amongst female inmates in Durban, South Africa

“…68 Suicide is the leading cause of death in custody globally and is preventable; hence, it needs to be targeted in this high-risk population. 69 In our study, a minority of women (16.7%) had a previous psychiatric diagnosis and/or treatment for a psychiatric disorder despite the majority having a lifetime history of mental illness. This is in contrast to the study by Tyler et al (UK) who found that a high number of prisoners had previous contact with mental health services or a prior psychiatric diagnosis.…”

Bagaimana Warga Binaan Dengan Kasus Pencabulan Anak Memaknai Vonisnya? Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

“…Di sisi lain, dukungan sosial dalam penjara dan proses rehabilitasi sosial yang baik dalam penjara juga memainkan peranan yang penting bagi kesehatan mental tahanan (McKay, Comfort, Grove, Bir, & Lindquis t, 2018). Selain itu, bagi tahanan yang tidak mampu dalam menerima dan bahkan menolak realitas penahanannya, maka risiko timbuln ya masalah emosi negatif tadi bahkan muncul dan berdampak lebih lanjut kepada perilaku menyakiti diri dan bunuh diri (Butler, Young, Kinner, & Broschmann, 2018).…”