Characteristics and predictors of self-mutilation: a study of incarcerated women.
BACKGROUND
Research on self-mutilating behaviour and incarcerated adults has found that nearly 50% of people in prison participated in it (Holley and Alborleda-Florez, 1988). This is an enormous liability for the criminal justice system as well as a human concern.


OBJECTIVE
The research question for this study was to explore whether a history of childhood abuse in a sample of incarcerated women would increase their likelihood of self-mutilation.


METHODS
Participants were 256 female inmates from five prisons in a large southern state who volunteered to attend a 12-week trauma and abuse psychosocial intervention group. The participants were evaluated for childhood abuse, criminal history, risk-taking behaviour and self-mutilation. Data are presented regarding individual, criminal, abuse, family and risk-taking behaviours comparing self-mutilators (n = 109) with non-self-mutilators (n = 147).


RESULTS
The self-mutilation group was more likely to report higher rates of emotional, sexual and physical abuse and on clinical significance scales of anxiety, depression, dissociation, impaired self-reference, anger, tension reduction and intrusive experiences. The self-mutilation group was also younger and was more often Caucasian. The results of the regression model suggest that a history of suicide attempts, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, bingeing and vomiting and impaired self-reference are predictors of self-mutilation.


CONCLUSIONS
Recommendations and implications for practice are discussed.
Roe-Sepowitz
Dominique
D
Arizona State University, School of Social Work, Phoenix, AZ 85004-0689, USA. Dominique.roe@asu.edu
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011330:Prisons; D012307:Risk Factors; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States