Non-suicidal self-harm amongst incarcerated men: a qualitative study

Purpose: To further understanding of the needs and motivations of incarcerated men who self-harm with no apparent suicidal intent. These have received little attention in research and policy, despite men accounting for a high and increasing proportion of self-harm in prisons. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 adult male prisoners with a recent history or thoughts of non-suicidal self-harm. The interviews were analysed drawing on principles of thematic analysis and discourse analysis. Findings: Against a backdrop of early traumatic experiences and more recent adverse events (including prison-related ones), self-harm was described by many as a desperate - but meaningful – coping strategy; both a means of releasing tension, sadness and frustration, and of being heard in an unresponsive system. Value: These findings echo those of research conducted with women (including women prisoners) who self-harm, but challenge some of the more negative ways in which non-suicidal male prisoner self-harm has been portrayed in the (scant) previous literature. As well as pointing to the need for greater awareness of the complex needs of men in prisons, they underscore the importance of (also) exploring - and perhaps addressing - the issue of self-harm separately from suicide, and of striving to make prisons, as well as prisoners, ‘healthier’ and better able to cope with pressure

Applying the Cry of Pain model as a predictor of deliberate self-harm in an early-stage adult male prison population

Purpose: Deliberate self-harming behaviour is more prevalent within the prison environment than in community samples, with those in the first weeks of imprisonment at greatest risk. Research in this area has been largely atheoretical and a unifying model may improve the predictability of assessment and the development of intervention approaches. This study applied William and Pollock’s (2001) Cry of Pain model as the theoretical process of deliberate self-harm in the early stages of imprisonment. Method: A prospective study of new arrivals at an adult male prison. Participants (n =181) completed questionnaires and it was hypothesised that the factors derived from the model (perceived stress, defeat, entrapment and absence of rescue factors) would be predictive of future deliberate self-harm. Prisoners with active psychosis and non-English speakers were excluded. All participants were followed up for four months for instances of self-harm. Eighteen participants engaged in self-harm during this period. Results: The Cry of Pain Model was supported in the analysis. Hierarchical binary logistic regression confirmed that all features of the model were supported as predictive of future self-harm in prison, even after controlling for previous self-harm, depression and hopelessness. Conclusion: The Cry of Pain model is supported as a predictive model for deliberate self-harm in prison. Suggestions are offered as to the impact on assessment and intervention directions in prison

Heavy-light, absent-present: rethinking the 'weight' of imprisonment.

Since King and McDermott (1995), following Downes (1988), defined the psychological oppressiveness of incarceration in terms of 'weight', little has been written about the 'weight of imprisonment'. None the less, it is generally assumed that prisons that are 'light' are preferable to those that are 'heavy' - in part because of an assumption among many penologists that power, and its application, is dangerous and antagonistic. This article does not dispute that 'heavy' prisons are undesirable. Its argument is that there can also be dangers if prisons are excessively light. Many of these dangers are linked to the under-use of power. The tone and quality of prison life depends on the combined effects of institutional weight with the 'absence' or 'presence' of staff power. Drawing on prisoners' descriptions of their experiences in public and private sector prisons, and their assessments of important aspects of their quality of life, the article outlines what these concepts mean in practice. The authors develop a four-quadrant framework for conceptualizeng penal legitimacy and the experience of penal authority.The empirical research on which this article draws was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (RES-062-23-0212).This is the accepted version of the following article: Crewe B, Liebling A, Hulley S, The British Journal of Sociology 2014, 65: 387–410, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.1208

The 'dangerous other' in maximum-security prisons

Drawing on data from maximum-security prisons in England, this article explores the way the representation of criminals as ‘dangerous others’ manifests in prison discourse and practice. Following Bourdieu, it is argued that within the ‘habitus of maximum-security’, prison staff become somewhat predisposed to seeing prisoners as essentialised, ‘dangerous others’ who are not ‘like us’, a perspective that is also reinforced in popular and tabloid print media outside the prison walls. The strength of these representations coupled with the habitus of maximum-security thus constrains possibilities for alternative representations of prisoners labelled as ‘dangerous others’ or for alternative ways of structuring the ethos and conditions of maximum-security prisons

Responding to repetitive, non-suicidal self-harm in an English male prison: staff experiences, reactions, and concerns

Objectives. This study considers how those who work in prisons are affected by and respond to repetitive self-harm of male prisoners. The perspectives of correctional staff are often overlooked in research that considers self-harming prisoners. As prison staff have regular, potentially daily contact with prisoners who self-harm, it is important to consider the ways in which they respond to this aspect of their job, both in terms of their own and prisoners’ well-being. Design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with prison staff and explored using techniques of thematic analysis. Methods. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 30 correctional staff – 15 custodial officers and 15 health care staff – to explore their experiences, responses to, and ways of coping with non-suicidal, repetitive self-harm. Result. Findings indicate high levels of frustration, tensions between health care and custodial staff, feelings of powerlessness, and low sense of job control. Conclusion. We set the tasks of prison staff within the wider contexts of work-stress literature and forensic practice. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of prisoner and officer well-being, secure custody, and the potential limitations both of institutional resourcing and the methodology employed within this study