A History of Incarceration May Increase Suicide Attempts in Young People

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 19, 2022) - Recent work from the School of Public Health published in Community Mental Health Journal shows that a history of incarceration may increase suicide attempts, particularly for those who were incarcerated at a young age and female. It is one of the first population-based studies to examine the relationship between a history of suicide attempt, age of incarceration, and sex.

Prior research shows that suicide rates are elevated for people who are recently released from correctional facilities. They often do not receive adequate care for mental health problems and substance use disorders while incarcerated, even though the prevalence of those issues tends to be higher when compared to non-incarcerated populations.

“Much research focuses on current incarceration and those who have been released within a year,” says Maggie Smith, a PhD student studying epidemiology who is lead author of the paper. “But life continues on after they hit the one-year mark, and we need to better understand the possible long-term implications of mass incarceration and how we can reduce suicide attempts.”

Smith worked with Tomoko Udo, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior, to estimate the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts based on age of incarceration and to break down the results by sex. Data was pulled from the National Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions III, in which 36,309 adults in the United States completed a computer-assisted face-to-face interview.

Those who had a history of incarceration had a higher likelihood of committing suicide in their lifetime compared to those without incarceration history, with an even higher likelihood for those who had juvenile incarceration history. Although women typically reported shorter durations of incarceration than men, the highest likelihood of suicide attempt was found in women with juvenile incarceration history. In addition, women who were incarcerated as juveniles were more likely to meet diagnosis for at least one psychiatric disorder and to report adverse childhood experiences.

“Historically, reentry programs have focused on the needs of men at the time of their release,” says Smith. “Criminal activity from women often comes from drug use after physical or sexual abuse, so it is important that reentry programs adequately address sex-specific needs for women to help reduce lifetime risk for suicide attempts in this population.”