NCJ Number
174549
Journal
Criminal Behavior and Mental Health Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: 1998 Pages: 7-16
Date Published
1998
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed all self-injury incidents over an 18- month period on the women's wards in a British maximum-security hospital.
Abstract
The sample consisted of all recorded incidents of self- injury on the women's wards of Ashworth Special Hospital between January 1993 and June 1994. Ashworth provides high-security psychiatric care to mentally disordered persons. The hospital had between 65 and 70 women inpatients at any one time over the duration of the study. Self-injury is never a reason for admission, nor is it a sole reason for remaining at the hospital; the common reasons for admission for this group are arson and direct personal violence. The data came from forms completed by nursing staff at the time they became aware of the injury. Minor self-injury that did not cause bodily damage was not reported. Over the study period there were 1,167 recorded self-injury incidents that involved 55 patients. Self-cutting was the most common injury. Other types included ligature tying (material around the neck without suspension) and insertion into the body. Insertion into the body included swallowing of objects or insertion into other orifices or previous wounds. Blunt injury was typically head banging. The major finding was the variation in rates of self-injury during the day. On the women's wards there was a striking peak of self-injury between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m. This was found on each of five wards and for all methods of self-injury. If this fluctuation is a reliable finding, the answer as to why self-injury peaks at this time may lie in particular environmental stimuli that increase anxiety at these times. Further research should focus on time-related mental states and environmental events. 13 references