Court appearance may increase risk of suicide attempt, study says

By Staff Writer

Individuals who have been in contact with the criminal justice system may be at a higher risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts, a new study reveals.

The research, which will appear in a future issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, focused on people who were exposed to the justice system. Studying national registries that identified 27,219 Danish individuals who had committed suicide between 1981 and 2006, researchers found that 34. 8 percent of men who killed themselves had a criminal history, compared to about 13 percent of women.

The team also compared these results to 524,899 controls that were matched by age and sex, linking this data to the amount of criminal justice system exposure they had after 1980. The researchers concluded that individuals who served prison time were significantly more likely to commit suicide than those who did not appear in criminal court. Furthermore, people who did not receive a guilty verdict or receive jail time still had an elevated suicide rate compared to non-criminals.

The study's authors said that this research shows that more mental health services are needed for all people who are in contact with the criminal justice system, even if they are not given jail time.

Adolescents who experience suicidal thoughts may benefit from wilderness therapy programs, which aims to provide help for troubled teens.