The aim of this study was to identify risk factors distinguishing inmates who attempt suicide from inmates who complete suicide. Compared with attempters, completers tended to be older, male, more educated, and married or separated/divorced; pretrial, committed for a violent crime, incarcerated in jail, housed in an inpatient mental health unit or protective custody setting, living in a single cell, not on suicide precautions, not previously under close observation; and more likely to act during overnight hours and die by hanging/self-strangulation. Targeted assessment of a broad range of risk factors is necessary to inform suicide prevention efforts in correctional facilities.

The current study tested the effectiveness of a self-administered, cognitive-behavioral intervention targeting criminal thinking for inmates in segregated housing: Taking a Chance on Change (TCC). Participants included 273 inmates in segregated housing at state correctional institutions. Reductions in criminal thinking, as assessed by the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Styles-Simplified Version, were found in the general criminal thinking score as well as the proactive and reactive composite scores. Examination of demographic predictors of change (i.e., age, years of education, length of sentence) revealed older and more educated participants decreased in criminal thinking more than younger and less educated participants. For a subset of 48 inmates, completion of TCC was associated with significant reduction of disciplinary infractions. Reductions in reactive criminal thinking predicted reductions in disciplinary infractions. Although further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of TCC in reducing recidivism, the reductions in criminal thinking and disordered conduct suggest this is a promising intervention and mode of treatment delivery. By utilizing self-directed study at an accessible reading level, the intervention is uniquely suited to a correctional setting where staff and monetary resources are limited and security and operational issues limit the feasibility of traditional cognitive-behavioral group treatment.

Because most suicides in a special housing unit occurred within eight weeks of placement, enhanced observation of special housing inmates is warranted in that period at a minimum.

No abstract

The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) is one of the most widely used measures of criminal thinking. Although the PICTS has adequate psychometric qualities with many general population inmates, the measurement confound of reading ability may decrease its construct validity in low-literacy inmates. To help resolve this confound, we present psychometric evaluation of a simplified version of the PICTS (PICTS-SV) in which item language was simplified but item content was preserved. We first conducted Lexile analyses to confirm the reading level of the PICTS-SV is significantly lower than the original PICTS (i.e., sixth grade versus ninth grade). We then tested a bifactor model to confirm the PICTS-SV contains the same two factors as the original PICTS: proactive and reactive criminal thinking. These PICTS-SV results are commensurate with the factor structure of the original PICTS. Results suggest the PICTS-SV is a valid alternative for assessing criminal thinking in inmates with low reading ability.