Perceptions of a Peer Suicide Prevention Program by Inmates and Professionals Working in Prisons
Underestimation of Risk, the Modification of the Field, and the Role of Self-Consciousness
Abstract
Background: Suicide prevention is a major challenge for penal institutions in many countries. The traditional approach relies on the expertise of health professionals and is supplemented by the intervention of other professionals and the inmates themselves. New methods of suicide prevention based on peer support have been developed in recent years. Peer prevention programs rely on the ability of inmates to identify suicide risk. Aims: This study examines perceived suicide risk among inmates and explores possible explanations. Method: 54 inmates and 17 professionals working in prisons responded to a questionnaire. Results: The peer prevention program was found to change inmates’ expectations of support in the event of a suicide crisis. The study also found that the inmates involved in the program tended to underestimate the risk of suicide. The perception of the prevention program and the level of self-consciousness were found to account for the underestimation of suicide risk. Conclusions: Support for inmates involved in suicide prevention programs must take into account their isolation in prison. The training provided to inmates must also consider the biases affecting the assessment of risk.
References
1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control theory approach to human behavior. New York: Springer.
(2007). Preventing suicide in prisons, part II. Crisis, 28, 122–130.
(1972). A theory of objective self awareness. New York: Academic Press.
(1975). Public and private self-consciousness: Assessment and theory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43, 522–527.
(2004). Peer suicide prevention in a prison. Crisis, 25, 19–26.
(1995). Controversial issues in jail suicide prevention, part 2: Use of inmates to conduct suicide watch. Crisis, 16, 151–153, 161.
(1979). The organizational functions of the self: An alternative to the Duval and Wicklund Model of Self-Awareness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 756–768.
(2007). Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus risk perception by healthcare personnel in a public hospital. Social Behavior and Personality, 35, 89–100.
(1993). The evaluative factor of the risk perception. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 1594–1605.
(1987). Perception of risk. Science, 236, 280–285.
(2006). The role of peer-support in reducing self-harm in prison. In , Preventing suicide and other self-harm in prison (pp. 153–166). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave-Macmillan.
(