Non-lethal Self-harm among Inmates

The prison environment represents a supplemental risk factor in the increased frequency of non-lethal self-harm among inmates, by comparison with the general population. The paper aims at defining the socio-demographic characteristics of 175 inmates who carried out the act by chemical means (drug intoxication or the consumption of other toxic substances) – classified as substance abuse, in contrast with the inmates who chose to act by physical means (plagues at various levels and/or ingestion of alien bodies). Differences were revealed between the two lots regarding temporal data, psychiatric antecedents, relapse frequency, acceptance of the treatment.