Suicide in Prison: Epidemiology and Prevention Measures

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in prisons worldwide. In France, the suicide rate among prisoners is 18.5 suicides per 10,000 inmates—seven times higher than in the general population. Among the risk factors identified in the literature, those most strongly associated with suicide in prison are physical isolation in custody, a history of psychiatric disorders, and a history of suicide attempts. Suicide prevention in prisons involves several measures, including treatment of psychiatric disorders, improvement of living conditions in custody, social support for prisoners, and the use of specific tools and programs by prison staff. No program for preventing recurrent suicidal behavior has ever been implemented. We propose adapting “VigilanS,” a program already used in the general population, for the prison population.

Author(s): Eck Marion, Scouflaire Tatiana, Debien Christophe, Amad Ali, Sannier Olivier, Chan Chee Christine, Thomas Pierre, Vaiva Guillaume, Fovet Thomas

Publishing year: 2019

Pages: 46-54

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