Self-Injurious Behaviors in Corrections: Informal Social Control and Institutional Responses in a State Prison System

Abstract

Self-injurious behavior among inmates remains a significant problem facing correctional institutions despite a lack of research on the topic. This study employs a content analysis of 352 incidents of self-injurious behavior documented by the South Carolina Department of Corrections over a 30 month period. The results from our analysis indicate that self-injury disproportionately occurs when social controls are absent. Self-injury was primarily associated with stressors both inside and outside of prison, followed by a subset of inmates who self-injure as a form of rebellion. Comorbidity due to mental illness was also a factor that contributed to self-injury, though we found that severely mentally ill inmates often alerted officials of their imminent need to self-injure. Institutional responses favored punitive strategies over therapeutic responses, with the utilization of suicide protocols (i.e., crisis intervention) being substantial. The use of force during self-injury events typically involved verbal commands and inmate compliance; however, some noncompliant inmates required an escalation of force to control. Policy implications are provided with direction for future research needed for the development of clear institutional responses to inmate self-injury.

Keywords:

• coping
• self-injurious behaviors
• use of force
• prison
• inmates
• standards of care

Notes

1. Black (1983) adds, “Law may be relatively unavailable to those with grievances in comparison to those who have offended them. Should the former employ self-help, they may therefore be vulnerable to harsh treatment by legal officials” (p. 42).

2. Antiquated terms used to describe self-injurious behaviors include self-mutilation and parasuicide. However, these terms should be avoided as they are misleading with regard to the dynamics that underpin self-injury. They also conflate the processes of self-injury with suicide.