Abstract
ObjectivePrisoners complete suicide and self-harm more frequently than members of the community. Sex offenders have been found to be at greater risk of engaging in these behaviours. This study examines the characteristics, prevalence, and predictors of self-harm and suicide attempts among: sex offenders that only victimise children (ChildSOs); adults (AdultSOs); or both (age-crossover polymorphous; PolySOs).MethodsData from three waves (1996, 2001, 2009) of the New South Wales (NSW) Inmate Health Survey was linked to the State’s re-offending database to identify men with histories of sexual offending. The health surveys captured self-report data on self-harm and suicidality.ResultsNon-sexual violent offenders (15%) and AdultSOs (14%) had the highest rate of self-harm, significantly more than ChildSOs (11%), non-sexual non-violent offenders (10%), and PolySOs (0%). Several factors significantly predicted self-harm at the bivariate level for both ChildSOs and AdultSOs, with unique predictors for each group. At the multivariate level, manic-depression trended towards significance for ChildSOs and any mental health condition remained a significant predictor for AdultSOs who self-harmed relative to AdultSOs who had not (aOR = 11.989, 95%CI [1.14, 126.66]). Approximately 23% of AdultSOs, 22% of PolySOs, and 19% of ChildSOs reported a suicide attempt throughout their lifetime, whereas only 15% of non-sexual non-violent offenders reported an attempt. At the bivariate level, few factors were significant for ChildSOs while several factors were significant for AdultSOs. At the multivariate level, a diagnosis of depression and treatment with psychiatric medication trended towards being significant predictors of suicide attempts for ChildSOs. In contrast, treatment with psychiatric medication (aOR = 25.732, 95%CI [1.91, 347.19])] remained a significant predictor for AdultSOs who attempted suicide relative to AdultSOs who had not, as well as historical psychiatric hospitalisation (aOR = 6.818, 95%CI [1.04, 44.82]) and self-harm (aOR = 5.825, 95%CI [1.31, 25.99]).ConclusionSex offenders are at significantly higher risk of attempting and completing suicide relative to non-sexual non-violent offenders and warrant special attention. The prevalence rates and predictors of self-harm and suicidality suggest differences between sex offender subgroups may exist. These hold implications for the criminal justice and public health systems for addressing needs and identifying those most at risk of self-harm and suicide.
Highlights
High rates of suicide (Favril, Indig, et al, 2020) and selfharm (Favril, Yu, et al, 2020) are common among men in contact with the criminal justice system
AdultSOs (n = 67, 42%) had the largest proportion of participants who identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, followed by violent offenders (n = 451, 36%), ChildSOs (n = 24, 31%), polymorphic or age-crossover sex offenders (PolySOs) (n = 11, 26%), and non-sexual non-violent offenders (n = 88, 16%)
Both ChildSOs and AdultSOs were significantly more likely to report suicidal ideation compared to the nonsexual non-violent offenders
Summary
High rates of suicide (Favril, Indig, et al, 2020) and selfharm (Favril, Yu, et al, 2020) are common among men in contact with the criminal justice system. Metaanalytic results suggest that up to 180 per 100,000 prisoners complete suicide (Fazel et al, 2017), approximately five to nine times that of people in the general community (Fazel et al, 2011). Approximately 4 per 100 prisoners self-harm throughout their lives (Favril, Yu, et al, 2020). A recent meta-analysis found that people with a sexual offence are approximately 3 times more likely to attempt suicide relative to offenders without these offences (Zhong et al, 2021). Very little research has examined the prevalence and predictors of suicide attempts (e.g., Katsman & Jeglic, 2020) or self-harm (e.g., Stinson & Gonsalves, 2014) among sex offenders
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
