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Cited by 194Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesCriminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisPsychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending

Psychiatric and social aspects of suicidal behaviour in prisons

JENKINS, RACHEL, BHUGRA, DINESH, MELTZER, HOWARD, SINGLETON, NICOLA, BEBBINGTON, PAUL, BRUGHA, TRALOACH, COID, JEREMY, FARRELL, MIKE +2 more·2005·Psychological Medicine
DOI 10.1017/s0033291704002958
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Suicidal behaviour and completed suicide are serious problems within British prisons, leading to significant morbidity and mortality, and are the focus of major efforts towards their prevention. AIM: To explore the demographic, social and psychiatric correlates of suicidal behaviour in prisons in England and Wales and their relationship with health service use; and to develop a combined psychosocial model of risk. METHOD: This report analyses the prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in the ONS National Prison Survey, and their association with the presence of psychiatric disorders, personality disorder, substance abuse and social risk factors. These data were compared with data from the second national survey of psychiatric morbidity in adults living at home. In both surveys, a two-phase interviewing procedure was used, covering general health, health service use, assessment of psychiatric disorders, life events, social supports, suicidal behaviour, activities of daily living, sociodemographic data, substance abuse and intelligence. RESULTS: Suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts were commoner in prisons than in the general population and these were significantly associated with higher rates of psychosis, neurosis and personality disorder in prisons. In addition, demographic and factors such as being young, single, white, leaving school early and experiencing poor social support and significant social adversity were important risk factors for suicidal thoughts. Crucially, there was no separate category of people at suicidal risk who did not have psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The high rates of suicidal behaviour in prisons cannot be addressed without adequate attention to the high rates of psychiatric disorder and vulnerability factors in prisoners.

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Crossref · 10.1017/s0033291704002958

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  • Antisocial personality disorder was not linked with self-harm in prison.

    “Antisocial personality disorder, despite being strongly associated with self-harm in the community,73 was not linked with self-harm in prison.8”

    From Risk factors for self-harm in prison: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as [8]

  • The systematic review and meta-analysis underscores the evidence for modifiable psychiatric risk factors for self-harm in prisoners.

    “Our systematic review and meta-analysis clearly underscores the evidence for modifiable psychiatric risk factors for self-harm in prisoners, which is consistent with calls for greater health-care involvement in the management and prevention of self-harm in prisons.3, 8”

    From Risk factors for self-harm in prison: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as [8]

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Authors
JENKINS, R., BHUGRA, D., MELTZER, H., SINGLETON, N., BEBBINGTON, P., BRUGHA, T., COID, J., FARRELL, M., LEWIS, G., & PATON, J.
Affiliations
St Bartholomew's Hospital (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2005-01-21
Volume
35
Issue
2
Pages
257-269
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
DOI
10.1017/s0033291704002958
OpenAlex
W2085124237
Cited by
194
References
26
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 9
FWCI
6.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Leicester Research Archive (University of Leicester) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
Keywords
suicidal behavior, prisons, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, mental illness, personality disorders, substance abuse, social risk factors, social support, psychosis, neurosis, health care utilization, risk factors
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Mental Disorders, Demography, England, Female, Health Services, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prisoners, Risk Factors, Social Behavior, Social Support, Suicide, Suicide, Attempted, Wales, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Epidemiologic Studies

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