Posthumous Commonalities in Death by Suicide: A Statewide Exploration

• In Event: Incarceration and Mental Health

Abstract

Suicide is one of the leading causes of non-natural death in American prisons. Despite this, few studies have attempted to conduct postmortem analyses of the common factors associated with in-prison suicide. Using official data from posthumous forensic autopsies and prison records, this study describes the variation in key theoretical factors that may contribute to in-prison suicide. The data represent all 58 suicides completed in Illinois DOC facilities from 2013 to 2021. We aim to identify both commonalities and unique factors associated with suicide including: substance use, psychological distress, offense incarcerated for, visitation, time until release, prior attempts, method, time , and location. Results suggest a high level of commonality among several theoretically relevant predictors of in-prison suicide. In addition, we detail several factors that represent unique aspects of people’s in-prison experiences that might help to explain some antecedents of suicide. Understanding the constellation of various risk factors associated with in-prison suicide may provide correctional facilities with an ability to better identify highly salient risk factors for suicide. The descriptive nature of the study helps to lay the groundwork for future studies. By providing a baseline of various phenomenon associated with suicide, the findings of this study can direct future research.

Authors

• Frances Abderhalden, California State University, Los Angeles

• Thomas Baker, University of Central Florida