Self-injurious behavior in correctional settings

Abstract

This article reviews the literature concerning self-injury among criminal offenders. It describes many of the problems, barriers, and obstacles to effective assessment and treatment of self-injury and discusses the absence of a clear paradigm within which to develop a classification system and standardized nomenclature to describe the spectrum of self-injurious behaviors. This article distinguishes between self-injury resulting from suicidal versus nonsuicidal intent, presents treatment strategies for managing each, and concludes with a proposed set of eight recommended goals for creating a national strategy to develop self-injury programming in correctional settings.