NCJ Number
175546
Date Published
1997
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This Spanish study examined the relationship between inmates' feelings and emotions relating to prison and suicide attempts.
Abstract
The sample consisted of 85 inmates who were imprisoned in Barcelona Youth, Barcelona Men's, and Quatre Camins prisons, all in the Province of Barcelona. Of these 85, 8 had attempted suicide at least once, 32 had intentionally injured themselves, and 45 had neither injured themselves nor attempted suicide; the latter group constituted the control group. The groups had been checked to ensure the inmates were of the same age group. All subjects were administered a questionnaire with 18 questions to determine inmates' feelings about family and friends, as well as their entry into and stay in prison. The group that attempted suicide reacted strongly to both the prison's physical environment and the people, including other inmates and prison officers as well as the violence in prison. Although the self- injury group reacted similarly to the prison environment, the values were much lower than for the group that had attempted suicide. The control group also reacted to the prison environment upon admission, but they coped with their emotions by expressing them in words and developing ways to cope with prison life. These findings suggest that inmates with a history of injuring themselves should be instructed in how to transform thoughts and urges of self-aggression into words rather than behavior. 5 tables and 18 references