| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Suicide | Intentionally ending one’s own life. |
| Suicide attempt | Non-fatal self-injurious behaviour with inferred or actual intent to die. |
| Suicidal behaviour | Self-injurious behaviour that may result in ending one’s life, whether fatal (suicide) or not (suicide attempt). This term excludes suicidal ideation. |
| Suicidal ideation | Any thoughts about ending one’s own life, with or without a clear plan for suicide. Suicidal ideation is used interchangeably with suicidal thoughts. |
| Suicide risk | A composite term referring to one’s risk to consider, attempt, or die by suicide. This term includes both suicidal ideation and behaviour. |
| Self-harm | Non-fatal self-injurious behaviour with or without intent to die. This term does not distinguish between suicide attempt and non-suicidal self-injury. |
Table 1
Lifetime prevalence (%) of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt in prisoners, by sex.
| SUICIDAL IDEATION | SUICIDE ATTEMPT | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEN | WOMEN | ALL | MEN | WOMEN | ALL | |
| Australia | 33 | 39 | 34 | 20 | 29 | 21 |
| Belgium | 43 | 58 | 44 | 20 | 37 | 22 |
| England & Wales | 38 | 54 | 39 | 22 | 40 | 22 |
| New Zealand | 34 | 43 | 35 | 19 | 28 | 19 |
Table 2
Summary of models explaining risk of suicidal behaviour in prisoners.
| MODEL | PREMISE | SELECTED RISK FACTORS* |
|---|---|---|
| Importation | Prisoners represent a non-random selection of vulnerable individuals who already are at high risk of suicide before imprisonment. The elevated risk of suicide in prisoners is a consequence of the social and health inequalities which they import into prison. | Socioeconomic disadvantage Trauma and childhood abuse Psychiatric (co)morbidity Drug and alcohol abuse Impulsivity and aggression History of self-harm |
| Deprivation | Prisoners are at increased risk of suicide by virtue of the highly demanding and restrictive environment they find themselves in. Deprivations and stressors inherent to the prison experience are what primarily account for the excess risk of suicide in prisoners. | Loss of freedom and autonomy Poor social support Lack of purposeful activity Solitary confinement Isolation and overcrowding Victimisation and bullying |
[i] * For a full overview of identified risk factors, see recent meta-analyses (Favril et al., 2020c; Zhong et al., 2021) and narrative reviews (Lohner & Konrad, 2007; Marzano et al., 2016).