Prison suicide in England and Wales, 1972-87

Article Abstract:

Prison suicides continue to increase in England and Wales despite programs designed to identify prisoners at risk. During the years 1972 to 1987, 300 suicides took place in prisons in England and Wales, and the records of 295 were examined. There were 290 males and five females, but group differences were minor so all records were analyzed together. Average age was 32.9 years. There were no ethnic differences between the group that committed suicide and prisoners who did not. The third quarter of the year saw the greatest number of suicides (33.1 percent), and almost 50 percent occurred during the hours of midnight and eight in the morning. Seventeen percent occurred within a week of imprisonment, 28.5 percent within a month, 51.2 percent within three months, and 76.8 percent within a year. Most deaths occurred by hanging. About three-quarters of the prisoners who committed suicide had a history of convictions, and there was a high proportion of convictions for violent or sexual offenses. Psychiatric history was reported in about a third of the sample, and there was often a history of self-injury. In only 16.8 percent of cases did a medical examination note the risk of suicide. The data suggest that those who have been imprisoned for less than a year are at particularly high risk for committing suicide. A large number had no known risk factors, but the sample had a higher percentage of risk factors than the prison population at large. The average age of the sample was higher than the prison population average as well. Those who killed themselves because of guilt tended to do so early on, and a third of them did so in the early morning hours. This may be evidence for depressive illness as a contributing factor. It is suggested that suicide rates might be reduced if communication were improved both within prisons and with the outside. Certain other safety precautions should be taken as well, such as designing cells that would minimize the possibility that prisoners could hang themselves, as hanging was by far the most common means of committing suicide. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

United Kingdom, Patient outcomes, Mortality, Mental health services, Prisoners, Prisons, Great Britain

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Suicide in Cork and Ireland

Article Abstract:

The suicide rate in Ireland increased from 1.75 per 100,000 to 8.0 per 100,000 by 1985. To determine whether increases in rate were actual or due to recording errors, data from a number of Ireland's government and health agencies were compiled and analyzed. In Cork, a city in which suicide rates in 1975 were well above the national rate, a separate analysis was carried out. The study also attempted to determine whether factors associated with anomie (decline in social norms due to lack of regulation, support and control in society) or family cohesion may have affected the rising suicide rates. Measures of anomie were assessed by analyzing illegitimacy rates, crime rates and admissions to hospitals for alcoholism. Data analysis revealed large increases in suicide rates for all age groups among men in Ireland between 1970 and 1985. The largest increase was among younger men, for whom hanging, shooting and drowning were the principal suicidal methods. The female rate also increased across all age groups, with the highest increase among 44 to 64 year old women. Female suicides were primarily by drowning or poisoning. The illegitimacy rate increased from 5.7 per 1,000 in 1970, to 12 per 1,000 in 1985. Admissions to hospitals for alcoholism increased from 10 per 1,000 in 1970 to 21 per 1,000 in 1981, and from 1975 to 1985, the rate of crime in Ireland doubled. Family cohesion also declined over the study period: the marriage rate fell from 14.8 per 1,000 in 1971 to 10 per 1,000 in 1985. Methods and rates of suicide in Cork were similar to those of the rest of Ireland. Since health records did not reveal evidence of an increase in psychiatric illness, and since no errors in recording practices for suicides were found, increases in suicide rates were thought to be related to anomie and lack of cohesiveness in Irish society. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Ireland

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Monthly and seasonal variation in parasuicide: a sex difference

Article Abstract:

The incidence of suicide varies by season. Spring and early summer have the highest rates, while suicide is attempted least often in the winter. Some studies have shown there to be sex differences as well. Parasuicide, or a nonfatal attempt to kill oneself, has been less studied. A review of 22,169 cases of parasuicide was conducted in which the events were classed first by sex and then subdivided by season of the year in which the attempt occurred. Results showed that there was a clear seasonal variation of parasuicide patterns among women but not among men. For women there was a noticeable decrease in treatment for suicide attempts in December but a significant increase during three days after the beginning of the new year (2-4 January). The December drop may be a sociological artifact reflecting the fact that women tend to bear more of the brunt of the responsibilities around Christmastide, which may promote feelings that protect them from suicide attempts until the period is over. There were no significant seasonal variations found for men, which suggests there may be sex differences in the effects of social or national factors that contribute to the patterns of parasuicide. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

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