Title: Inmate Suicide: Prevalence, Assessment, and Protocols -- Tripodi and Bender 7 (1): 40 -- Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention
Headings: Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention
Inmate Suicide: Prevalence, Assessment, and Protocols

Content: Coping with entering this environment, inmates often feel overwhelmed and hopeless, leading some of them to choose suicide as a way to escape. Furthermore, offenders are likely to have several risk factors that predispose them to suicidal behavior, including preexisting thought disorders, alcohol or substance abuse problems, mood disorders, and previous suicide attempt histories ( Way et al., 2005 ). Additionally, Tartaro and Lester (2005) found that prison suicide rates are correlated with suicide rates for adult males in the general U.S. population, pointing to the importance of societal risk factors along with individual factors. This article describes the prevalence of suicide for incarcerated adults, factors associated with suicide risk, methods for assessing suicide risk in this vulnerable population, and current protocols for suicide prevention programs in jails and prisons. Defining the Problem
TOP
Defining the Problem
Scope of the Problem
Risk Factors
Psychiatric Diagnosis
Suicide Assessment Measures
Suicide Prevention Standards,...
Conclusion and Recommendations...
References
Although the definition of suicide may seem fairly straightforward, the concept deserves some clarification as it can describe a range of thoughts and behaviors from suicidal ideation (thoughts and planning), to suicidal gestures (self-harming behaviors), to suicide attempts (serious harm to self that could result in death with no intervention), and finally to completions (harm to self resulting in death). Furthermore, means of suicide are particular to the prisoner population as they live in very restricted and tightly controlled environments. Inmates use several methods to kill themselves, including gas inhalation, drug overdose ( Cox, 2003 ), and hanging ( Cox, 2003; Tatarelli, Mancinelli, Taggi, & Polidori, 1999 ). In a comprehensive evaluation of suicide prevention programs in prisons, White and Schimmel (1995) found that hanging was the most common method of suicide;