Suicide and Risk Behaviors in an Incarcerated American Indian Population in the Northern Plains [United States], 1999-2000
Description
This study was initiated by the administrator of a county
jail in the Northern Plains of the United States who was concerned
about the incidence of suicide behaviors in that facility,
particularly among the American Indian population. It was a two-year
project designed to evaluate the existing admissions suicide screening
tool and to improve the instrument's cultural relevance for the
American Indian population. The existing screening instrument used in
the county jail to interview inmates at their intake was developed in
New York. The main objective of the first year of the project was to
determine if that instrument was culturally appropriate for the jailed
American Indian population. The principal objective of the second year
of the project was to determine whether the employment of different
suicide screening protocols would make a difference in the responses
of new detainees with regard to the likelihood of securing their
honest reports of experiencing suicide ideation and its associated
risk factors. For the duration of the project, all male and female
inmates aged 18 and older who were booked into the jail went through
the customary booking procedure that included the administration of
the New York Suicide Prevention Screening Guidelines. In the first
year of the project, researchers also administered a short self-report
survey consisting of measures commonly associated with suicidal
ideation. The self-report survey measured stress, anxiety, suicide
ideation, hopelessness, and suicidal behavior history. The protocols
in the second year of the project reflected efforts to test different
screening conditions for four experimental groups and one control
group of new detainees. The outcome variables of the short self-report
survey consisted of measures of demographics, comfort experience
during booking and the screening process, self-efficacy and management
of depression, knowledge of mental health support available within the
jail, and general well-being. In addition to the quantitative data
collection, qualitative data were also collected to develop a
straightforward assessment of suicide ideation criteria in this
specific jail setting using semi-structured focus group interviews.
Resources
| Name |
Format |
Description |
Link |
|
0 |
ICPSR03925.v1 |
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03925.v1 |
Tags
- cultural-influences
- suicide-prevention
- suicide
- native-americans
- jail-inmates
- emotional-states