The impact of contact with suicide related behaviour in prisons in young offenders

Hales, H., Edmondson, Amanda J., Davison, S., Maughan, B. and Taylor, P.J. (2015) The impact of contact with suicide related behaviour in prisons in young offenders. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 36 (1). pp. 21-30. ISSN 0227-5910

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Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Prison suicide rates are high, and suicide-related behaviors (SRBs) higher, but effects of contact with such behaviors in prison have not previously been examined.
AIMS:
To compare the mental state of young men witnessing a peer's suicide-related behavior in prison with that of men without such experience, and to test for factors associated with morbidity.
METHOD:
Forty-six male prisoners (age 16-21 years) reporting contact with another's suicide-related behavior in prison were interviewed 6 months after the incident, with validated questionnaires, as were 44 without such contact at least 6 months into their imprisonment.
RESULTS:
Significantly higher levels of psychiatric morbidity and own suicide-related behaviors were found in the witness group, even after controlling for their higher levels of family mental illness and pre-exposure experience of in-prison bullying. Some personal factors were associated with higher morbidity; incident and institutional factors were not.
CONCLUSIONS:
Findings of heightened vulnerabilities among young men exposed to suicide-related behaviors in prison suggest a need for longitudinal study to clarify temporal relationships and inform strategies to prevent or limit development of morbidity and further harm.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RT Nursing
Schools:	School of Human and Health Sciences School of Human and Health Sciences > Centre for Applied Psychological Research
Depositing User:	Amanda Edmondson
Date Deposited:	15 Jun 2016 10:23
Last Modified:	11 Aug 2016 12:18
URI:	http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/28539

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