- 20% reported self-harm thoughts; 9% had recorded self-harm incidents during admission to a prison mental health unit (2020–2023).
- History of self-harm or suicidal behaviour and in-stay disclosure of self-harm thoughts were independently associated with higher odds of self-harm.
- Findings emphasise need for targeted prevention and aftercare strategies for people with mental illness in custodial settings.
Australas Psychiatry. 2026 Sep 25:10398562261491629. doi: 10.1177/10398562261491629. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
ObjectivePeople in prison have high rates of self-harm and suicide but little is known about the patterns of occurrence over time in custodial settings. Rates of psychiatric diagnoses in custodial settings are also high, and strong associations have been found between psychiatric diagnoses and risk of self-harm and suicidality.MethodsIn this short report, we present a study examining 3 years of data (2020-2023) from a mental health unit within a prison in New South Wales, Australia. We describe the characteristics of the cohort and report rates of self-harm and suicidal behaviours during the admittance.ResultsOverall, 20% of the cohort reported thoughts of self-harm at least once during their stay, and 9% of the cohort had at least one recorded self-harm incident. Multivariable binary logistic regression analyses revealed greater odds of self-harm for individuals with a recorded history of self-harm or suicidal behaviour and for those who reported thoughts of self-harm to staff during their stay.ConclusionsFindings from our study highlight the high rates of self-harm behaviour and ideation among people with mental illness in a custodial setting, supporting the need for targeted prevention and aftercare strategies.
PMID:42788877 | DOI:10.1177/10398562261491629
Share Evidence Blueprint
Save to Google Notes
Search Google Scholar
Save as PDF
⭐ My Revision List
