Tyčinio savęs žalojimo reiškiniai pataisos įstaigose

Abstract

This study identifies the typical motivations and risk factors which have affected deliberate selfinjures of inmates in the prisons of Lithuania. A sample consisted of patients (N=90) who had attended the Lithuanian Prison Hospital following a non-fatal act of self-harm performed at one of eleven correctional settings. All participants completed questionnaires designed to assess drives for incident and individual, criminological and social variables that could affect it, and 24,4% of the participants were interviewed in-depth. Results show that relatively younger age, previous self harm history, longer terms of imprisonment, unemployment, adaptation problems and lack of support at the institution, and feelings of desperation and hostility are related to self harm risk. Critical events with perceived dangerous subsequence in the prehistory of major cases were found. Thus, manipulative function of deliberate self-injure was prevalent, nevertheless, not unique. Insights and recommendations are offered focusing on ways to prevent and reduce self-injures in the correctional settings.