Citation

Khezri M, Sharifi H, Mirzazadeh A, Mehmandoost S, Hosseini-Hooshyar S, Ghalekhani N, Mehrabi F, Mahmoodabadi M, Tavakoli F, Shokoohi M, Karamouzian M. Int. J. Ment. Health Addiction 2023; 21(5): 3043-3060.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s11469-022-00773-6

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

We characterized suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among incarcerated people in Iran. We recruited a multistage random sample of 5785 incarcerated people from 33 prisons across Iran. Eligible participants were those aged ≥ 18 years who had been incarcerated for at least one week at the time of the study. Lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempts were estimated at 38.2% and 20.5%, respectively. Of participants who reported suicide attempts, 57.6% reported attempts prior to incarceration, 31.5% while incarcerated, and 10.9% both before and during incarceration. Suicide attempt was significantly associated with a younger age, being a woman, being widowed/divorced, a longer period of incarceration, convictions for violent crimes, HIV sero-positivity, lifetime non-injection, and injection drug use. The primary reasons reported for suicide attempts were feeling empty/hopeless and living with substance use disorders. Prison health services should provide a comprehensive, integrated mental health programme, including mental health screening upon arrival and continued care during incarceration. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Language: en

Keywords

Iran; Prison; Suicide attempt; Suicidal ideation; Incarcerated people