This paper reports on a study to examine the suicide experiences of rural girls in detention facilities, specifically focusing on two centers in West Virginia, and it discusses key themes that emerged from the qualitative data analysis.
Complex trauma history is one of the incarcerated girls’ most salient characteristics, and two of the most injurious outcomes are suicide ideation and attempted suicide. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, not one published study has thus far focused on the suicide experiences of rural girls in detention facilities. Guided by theoretical perspectives on females’ pathways into crime and using data derived from in-depth semistructured interviews with 39 girls housed in two West Virginia detention centers, the main objective of this article is to help fill a major gap in the extant literature on rural girls in conflict with the law. The key themes that emerged from qualitative data analyses are sleep deprivation, substance use, and a history of sexual and physical abuse. (Published Abstract Provided)