Department of Psychology, University of Manchester, UK.
Offender Health Research Network, University of Manchester, UK.
Crisis. 2021 Jul;42(4):255-262. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000714. Epub 2020 Aug 26.
In England and Wales, women in prison make up a minority (<5%) of the total custodial population, yet acts of self-harm are around five times more common among incarcerated women. While there has been a multiagency effort to improve how acts of self-harm are documented across prisons, the patterns and functions of self-harm for women in prison have not yet been fully addressed. We aimed to determine the patterns, prevalence, and functions of self-harm among women in prison through a mixed-methods study. A total of 108 women with a history of self-harm were interviewed across three female prisons. Participants completed a structured questionnaire detailing their experiences of self-harm across prison and community settings. We found that women in prison who frequently self-harmed disclosed high levels of trauma: past experiences of domestic violence (81.5%), childhood sexual abuse (66.7%), and adult sexual abuse (60.2%). Prevalent methods of recent in-prison acts of self-harm involved cutting, followed by ligaturing. The study used a cross-sectional design, self-reported data, and featured a subset of women identified as being at high-risk of self-harm. Motivations behind acts of self-harm by women in prison are complex. Triggers appear to be past trauma, deteriorating mental health, and separation from children or family.
在英格兰和威尔士，监狱中的女性在囚犯总数中占少数（<5%），但自残行为在被监禁的女性中更为常见，大约是五倍。虽然多机构已经努力改善如何在整个监狱系统中记录自残行为，但女性在监狱中自残的模式和功能尚未得到充分解决。我们旨在通过混合方法研究确定监狱中女性自残的模式、流行程度和功能。共有 108 名有自残史的女性在三所女子监狱接受了采访。参与者完成了一份详细描述她们在监狱和社区环境中自残经历的结构化问卷。我们发现，经常自残的监狱女性披露了高度的创伤：过去经历过家庭暴力（81.5%）、儿童性虐待（66.7%）和成人性虐待（60.2%）。最近在监狱中自残的常见方法包括切割，其次是结扎。该研究采用了横断面设计、自我报告的数据，并选择了一部分被认为有高自残风险的女性。监狱中女性自残行为的动机很复杂。诱因似乎是过去的创伤、不断恶化的心理健康状况以及与子女或家人的分离。
