Inmates remain a vulnerable group at elevated risk for suicide, especially in light of stresses associated with incarceration. Despite the elevated risk for inmates, suicide prevention practices in corrections remain tenuous at best. The present article reviews literature on risk and protective factors for suicide among inmates as well as current recommended best practices. It then provides directions for suicide prevention provision, training, and research in correctional settings. These include adaptations for security staff of current empirically supported models of suicide risk training and intervention.
AbidinZ., DavorenM., NaughtonL., GibbonsO., NutlyA., KennedyH. G. (2013). Susceptibility (risk and protective) factors for in-patient violence and self-harm: Prospective study of structured professional judgement instruments START and SAPROF, DUNDRUM-3 and DUNDRUM-4 in forensic mental health services. BMC Psychiatry, 13, 197–215. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-13-197
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Psychiatric services in jails and prisons (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
4.
AndersenH. S., SestoftD., LillebækT., GabrielsenG., HemmingsenR. (2003). A longitudinal study of prisoners on remand: Repeated measures of psychopathology in the initial phase of solitary versus nonsolitary confinement. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 26, 165–177.
5.
AndersenH. S., SestoftD., LillebækT., GabrielsenG., HemmingsenR., KrampP. (2000). A longitudinal study of prisoners on remand: Psychiatric prevalence, incidence and psychopathology in solitary vs. non-solitary confinement. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 102, 19–25.
6.
AufderheideD. H. (2000). Conducting the psychological autopsy in correctional settings. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 7, 5–36.
7.
AufderheideD. H., AmmonsL. (2011). Self-injurious behavior in corrections: Implementing evidence-based practices and measuring success. Corrections Today, 6–8. Retrived from https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-278008156.html
8.
BeckA. T., SteerR. A. (1988). BHS Beck Hopelessness Scale: Manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
9.
BeckA. T., SteerR. A. (1991). BSSI Beck Scale for suicidal ideation: Manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
10.
BlaauwE., WinkelF. W., KerkhofA. J. F. M. (2001). Bullying and suicidal behaviour in jails. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 28, 279–299.
11.
BonnerR. L. (2000). Correctional suicide prevention in the year 2000 and beyond. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 30, 370–376.
12.
BotegaN. J., SilvaS. V., ReginatoD. G., RapeliC. B., CaisC. F. S., MauroM. L. F.…CecconiJ. P. (2007). Maintained attitudinal changes in nursing personnel after a brief training on suicide prevention. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37, 145–153. doi:10.1521/suli.2007.37.2.145
13.
BryanC. J., RuddM. D. (2006). Advances in the assessment of suicide risk. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 185–200. doi:10.1002/jclp.20222
14.
CallahanL. (2004). Correctional officer attitudes toward inmates with mental disorders. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 3, 37–54.
15.
CramerR. J., BrysonC. N., StroudC. H., RidgeB. E. (2016). A pilot test of a graduate course in suicide theory, risk assessment, and management. Teaching of Psychology, 43, 238–242.
16.
CramerR. J., JohnsonS. M., McLaughlinJ., RauschE. M., ConroyM. A. (2013). Suicide risk assessment training for psychology doctoral programs: Core competencies and a framework for training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 7, 1–11. doi:10.1037/a0031836
17.
DanielA. E., FlemingJ. (2005). Serious suicide attempts in a state correctional system and strategies to prevent suicide. Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 33, 227–247.
18.
DyeM. H. (2010). Deprivation, importation, and prison suicide: Combined effects of institutional conditions and inmate composition. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 796–806.
19.
FaganT. J., CoxJ., HelfandS. J., AufderheideD. (2010). Self-injurious behavior in correctional settings. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 16, 48–66. doi:10.1177/1078345809348212
20.
FarkasM. A. (1999). Correctional officers attitudes toward inmates and working with inmates in a “get tough” era. Journal of Criminal Justice, 27, 495–506.
21.
GarbuttK., CaseyH. (2015). Attitudes toward prisoners who self harm scale: A psychometric evaluation. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 7, 158–166. doi:10.1108/JACPR-08-2014-0133
22.
HayesL. M. (2006). Suicide prevention in correctional facilities: An overview. In PuisisM. (Ed.), Clinical practice in correctional medicine (2nd ed., pp. 317–328). Philadelphia, PA: Mosby-Elsevier.
23.
HayesL. M. (2013). Suicide prevention in correctional facilities: Reflections and next steps. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 36, 188–194.
24.
HerronJ., TicehurstH., ApplebyL., PerryA., CordingleyL. (2001). Attitudes toward suicide prevention in front-line health staff. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 31, 342–347. doi:10.1521/suli.31.3.342.24252
25.
HolleyH. L., Arboleda-FlorezJ. E. (1988). Hypernomia and self-destructiveness in penal settings. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 11, 167–178. doi:10.1016/0160-2527(88)90029-5
26.
HungE. K., BinderR. L., FordwoodS. R., HallS. E., CramerR., McNielD. E. (2012). A method for evaluating competency in assessment and management of suicide risk. Academic Psychiatry, 36, 23–28. doi:10.1176/appi.ap.10110160
27.
IrelandJ. L., YorkC. (2012). Exploring application of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behaviour to self-injurious behaviour among women prisoners: Proposing a new model of understanding. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 35, 70–76.
28.
JobesD. A. (2006). Managing suicidal risk: A collaborative approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
29.
JobesD. A. (2012). The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS): An evolving evidence-based clinical approach to suicidal risk. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 42, 640–653.
30.
JobesD. A., BowersM. E. (2015). Treating suicidal risk in post-healthcare reform era. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 7, 167–178.
31.
Lake v. Cameron, 364 F.2d 657 (DC Cir 1966).
32.
LanesE. C. (2010). Are the “worst of the worst” self-injurious prisoners more likely to end up in long term maximum security administrative segregation?. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 55, 1034–1050.
33.
LieblingA. (2006). The role of the prison environment in prison suicide and prisoner distress. In DearG. E. (Ed.), Preventing suicide and other self-harm in prison (pp. 16–28). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave-Macmillan.
34.
LinehanM. M., GoodsteinJ. L., NielsonS. L., ChilesJ. A. (1983). Reasons for staying alive when you are thinking of killing yourself: The reasons for living inventory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 276–286.
35.
LovellD. (2008). Patterns of disturbed behavior in a supermax population. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35, 985–1004.
36.
MagalettaP. R., McLearenA. M. (2015). Clinical supervision in prison settings. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 7, 149–157.
37.
MangnallJ., YurkovichE. (2008). A literature review of deliberate self-harm. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 44, 175–184.
38.
MetznerJ., HayesL. M. (2006). Suicide prevention in jails and prisons. In SimonR. I., HalesR. E. (Eds.), Textbook of suicide assessment and management (1st ed., pp. 139–155). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
39.
MillerH. A. (1994). Reexamining psychological distress in the current conditions of segregation. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 1, 39–53.
40.
MillerH. A., YoungG. R. (1997). Prison segregation: Administrative detention remedy or mental health problem?. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 7, 85–94.
41.
MillerI. W., NormanW. H., BishopS. B., DowM. G. (1991). Modified scale for suicidal ideation. Providence, RI: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University and Butler Hospital.
42.
MumolaC. J. (2005). Suicide and homicide in state prisons and local jails (NCJ 210036). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/bjs/shsplj.pdf
43.
National Commission on Correctional Health Care. (2008). Standards for health services in jails. Chicago, IL: Author.
44.
National Institute of Corrections. (2010). National study of jail suicide: 20 years later (NIC Accession Number 024308). Washington, DC: Author.
45.
NonstadK., NessetM. B., KroppanE., PedersenT. W., NottestadJ. A., AlmvikR., PalmstiernaT. (2010). Predictive validity and other psychometric properties of the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) in a Norwegian high secure hospital. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 9, 294–299. doi:10.1080/14999013.2010.534958
46.
NoonanM., RohloffH., GinderS. (2015). Mortality in local jails and state prisons, 2000-2013—Statistical tables (NCJ 248756). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
47.
OsmanA., BaggeC. L., GutierrezP. M., KonickL. C., KopperB. A., BarriosF. X. (2001). The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire–Revised (SBQ-R): Validation with clinical and nonclinical samples. Assessment, 8, 443–454. doi:10.1177/107319110100800409
48.
PalmerE. J., ConnellyR. (2005). Depression, hopelessness and suicide ideation among vulnerable prisoners. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 15, 164–170.
49.
PattersonR. F., HughesK. (2008). Review of completed suicides in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 1999 to 2004. Psychiatric Services, 59, 676–682. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.59.6.676
50.
PosnerK., BrownG. K., StanleyB., BrentD. A., YershovaK. V., OquendoM. A.…MannJ. J. (2011). The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale: Initial validity and internal consistency findings from three multisite studies with adolescents and adults. American Journal of Psychiatry, 168, 1266–1277.
RodolfaE., BentR., EismanE., NelsonP., RehmL., RitchieP. (2005). A cube model for competency development: Implications for psychology educators and regulators. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36, 347–354. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.36.4.347
54.
RuddM. D., CuckrowiczK. C., BryanC. J. (2008). Core competencies in suicide risk assessment and management: Implications for supervision. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 2, 219–228.
55.
RushforthH. E. (2007). Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE): Review of literature and implications for nursing education. Nursing Education Today, 27, 481–490.
56.
SanchezH. G. (2013). Suicide prevention in administrative segregation units: What is missing?. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 19, 93–100.
57.
SilvermanM. M., BermanA. L., SanddalN. D., O’CarrollP. W., JoinerT. E. (2007). Rebuilding the tower of Babel: A revised nomenclature for the study of suicide and suicidal behaviors. Part 2: Suicide-related ideations, communications, and behaviors. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37, 264–277.
58.
SmithP. N., Wolfrod-ClevengerC., MandracchiaJ. T., JahnD. R. (2013). An exploratory factor analysis of the acquired capability for suicide scale in male prison inmates. Psychological Services, 10, 97–105.
59.
U.S. Public Health Service. (1999). Surgeon General’s call to action to prevent suicide. Washington, DC: Author.
60.
Van OrdenK. A., CukrowiczK. C., WitteT. K., JoinerT. E. (2012). Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness: Construct validity and psychometric properties of the interpersonal needs questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 24, 197–215.
61.
Van OrdenK. A., WitteT. K., CukrowiczK. C., BraithwaiteS. R., SelbyE. A., JoinerT. E. (2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117, 575–600. doi:10.1037/a0018697
62.
WangE. W., RogersR., GilesC. L., DiamondP. M., Herrington-WangL. E., TaylorE. R. (1997). A pilot study of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in corrections: Assessment of malingering, suicide risk, and aggression in inmates. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 15, 469–482.
63.
WayB. B., MiragliaR., SawyerD. A., BeerR., EddyJ. (2005). Factors related to suicide in New York state prisons. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 28, 207–221.
64.
WayB. B., SawyerD. A., BarbozaS., NashR. (2007). Inmate suicide and time spent in special disciplinary housing in New York State prison. Psychiatric Services, 58, 558–560. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.58.4.558
65.
WebsterC. D., MartinM. L., BrinkJ., NichollsT. L., DesmaraisS. (2009). Manual for the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) (Version 1.1). Port Coquitlam, Canada: Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission and St. Joseph’s Healthcare.
66.
WhiteT. W., SchimmelD. J., FrickeyR. (2002). A comprehensive analysis of suicide in federal prisons: A fifteen-year review. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 9, 321–343.
67.
WinklerG. E. (1992). Assessing and responding to suicidal jail inmates. Community Mental Health Journal, 28, 317–326. doi:10.1007/BF00755798
68.
World Health Organization. (2007). Preventing suicide in jails and prisons. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Document Production Services.
69.
YoungJ. L., AntonioM. E., WingeardL. M. (2009). How staff attitude and support for inmate treatment and rehabilitation differs by job categories: An evaluation of findings from Pennsylvania’s Department of Corrections employee training curriculum ‘Reinforcing Positive Behavior.’. Journal of Criminal Justice, 37, 435–431.
70.
ZapfP. A. (2006). Suicide Assessment Manual for Inmates (SAMI). Burnaby, Canada: Mental Health, Law and Policy Institute. Simon Frazier University.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
