Self-harm and suicidal behaviour among incarcerated adults in the Australian Capital Territory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21226162 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amanda Butler (0000-0002-9961-4306, Simon Fraser University, corresponding author), J T Young (0000-0001-5702-372X, The University of Melbourne), Stuart A Kinner (0000-0003-3956-5343, Griffith University), Rohan Borschmann (0000-0002-0365-7775, The University of Melbourne) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 13-13 |
| Publication date | 2018-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Health & Justice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2194-7899 • E-ISSN: 2194-7899 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1186/s40352-018-0071-8 |
| PMID | 30109499 |
| OpenAlex | W2887270130 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 22 |
BACKGROUND: Suicide 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. METHODS: Data 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. RESULTS: Nearly 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. CONCLUSION: The 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
Criminology · Environmental health · Harm · Poison control · Political science · Public health · Social capital · Social policy · Social science · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending · Social Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
Help-seeking behaviour and adolescent self-harm
Fatal and non-fatal repetition of self-harm
Severe mental illness in 33 588 prisoners worldwide
Self-harm
Risk factors for suicide in individuals with depression
Prevalence of Mental Illnesses in U.S. State Prisons
A cross-sectional survey of prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among prisoners in New South Wales, Australia
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Highly cited | No |