Hemming Laura, Bhatti Peer, Shaw Jennifer, Haddock Gillian, Pratt Daniel
Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Front Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 10;11:581390. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.581390. eCollection 2020.
Suicide and violence are prevalent within male prisons in the UK. It has been suggested that alexithymia may be associated with both suicide and violence. Alexithymia can be defined as an inability to identify or discuss emotions. The present study aimed to qualitatively explore male prisoners' experiences of alexithymia and how these experiences may relate to suicide and violence. Fifteen male prisoners were recruited from two prisons in the North West of England. All participants had experienced suicidal and/or violent thoughts and/or behaviors in the past 3 months, and all screened positive on an established measure of alexithymia. Participants took part in a qualitative interview during which they were also given the opportunity to provide drawings of their emotions. Data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis, with a collaborative approach taken between researchers and an individual with lived experience of residing in prison. The results indicated that male prisoners tended not to talk about their emotions with others, due to external pressures of residing in prison in addition to internal difficulties with recognizing and articulating emotions. Not discussing emotions with others was associated with a build-up of emotions which could result in either an emotional overload or an absence of emotions. Both experiences were perceived to be associated with hurting self or others, however, participants also identified a "safety valve" where it was acknowledged that using more adaptive approaches to releasing emotions could prevent harm to self and others. These findings suggest three main clinical implications; (1) a cultural shift in male prisons is needed which encourages open communication of emotions (2) individualized support is needed for those identified as experiencing a difficulty in recognizing and articulating emotions and (3) prison staff should encourage alternative ways of releasing emotions such as by using harm minimization or distraction techniques.
在英国的男性监狱中，自杀和暴力行为很普遍。有人认为，述情障碍可能与自杀和暴力行为都有关联。述情障碍可以被定义为无法识别或讨论情感。本研究旨在定性地探索男性囚犯的述情障碍经历，以及这些经历可能如何与自杀和暴力行为相关联。从英格兰西北部的两所监狱招募了15名男性囚犯。所有参与者在过去3个月内都有过自杀和/或暴力想法和/或行为，并且在一项既定的述情障碍测量中均筛查呈阳性。参与者参加了一次定性访谈，在此期间他们也有机会画出自己的情绪。数据被转录并使用主题分析法进行分析，研究人员与一名有监狱服刑生活经历的个体采用了合作的方式。结果表明，由于监狱生活的外部压力以及识别和表达情感的内部困难，男性囚犯往往不与他人谈论自己的情感。不与他人讨论情感与情感的积累有关，这可能导致情感过载或情感缺失。然而，参与者认为这两种情况都与伤害自己或他人有关，不过，参与者也发现了一个“安全阀”，即承认使用更具适应性的方式释放情感可以防止对自己和他人造成伤害。这些发现表明了三个主要的临床意义：（1）男性监狱需要进行文化转变，鼓励情感的开放交流；（2）对于那些被认定在识别和表达情感方面有困难的人，需要提供个性化的支持；（3）监狱工作人员应该鼓励采用替代的情感释放方式，比如使用伤害最小化或分散注意力的技巧。
