LIFETIME PREVALENCE OF PRIOR SUICIDE ATTEMPTS IN A REMANDED POPULATION AND RELATIONSHIP TO CURRENT MENTAL-ILLNESS

As part of an ongoing epidemiological investigation into the prevalenc e of mental illness among remanded offenders, data were collected on t he lifetime prevalence of suicide behaviours. Out of 1151 inmates inte rviewed, 20.7% of males and 34.0% of females reported a prior suicide attempt. Age and gender standardized comparisons to the general popula tion revealed remandees to be 11.24 times more likely to have a histor y of suicidality. Also, a greater proportion of suicide attempters met the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder (75.8 %), compared to n on-attempters (56.1 %). The most frequently occurring diagnosis in bot h groups was psychoactive substance abuse, but suicide attempters were more likely to meet the criteria for a mood or personality disorder. Persons with multiple previous attempts had a higher prevalence of men tal illness compared with single attempters. Lifetime history of a sui cide attempt was found to predict a current mental illness with 70.6 % accuracy. Therefore, when it is impossible to conduct detailed diagno stic assessments, past history of suicide attempts could be effectivel y used as a marker for mental illness for purposes of special handling and placement within a remand setting. Determining whether there is a history of suicide attempts should be an obligatory item on a cursory medical review of all incoming offenders to support judgements concer ning special mental health needs.