Informed by psychological and sociological perspectives, the present study aimed to improve knowledge on the nature of suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide among adult prisoners. Analyzing data from a nationally representative sample of 18,185 prisoners housed in 287 state and 39 federal prisons across the United States highlight: (a) key micro-level factors associated with suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide, along with some distinct predictive patterns for suicidal thoughts versus attempted suicide; (b) similarities and differences between male and female prisoners concerning the predictive patterns of suicidal thoughts and attempted suicide; (c) the relationship between macro-level prison characteristics and prisoner suicidality. Discussion points toward a direction for future research on prisoner suicidality, as well as recommendations for managing at-risk prisoners.
Keywords: Attempted suicide; prisoners; suicidal ideation; suicidality.