Incarcerated individuals are a population at greater risk of suicide, especially in Latin America, given the precarious conditions of confinement. Based on a national study conducted in Chile, this article analyzes suicidal ideation among a sample of 1,159 inmates from 20 facilities. Employing both the MQPL and the GHQ-12 instruments, the OLS regression model explained 36.5% of suicide ideation, with some predictors including perceived discrimination, experiences of suffering, stay in punishment, tense environment, and sadness. Suicide prevention efforts may be improved through periodic uses of both MQPL and GHQ-12 instruments.
BaierA.FritschR.IgnatyevY.PriebeS.MundtA. P. (2016). The course of major depression during imprisonment – A one year cohort study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 189(1), 207–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.09.003
2.
BergmanM.FondevilaG. (2021). Prisons and crime in Latin America. Cambridge University Press.
3.
BlanchardM.FarberB. A. (2020). It is never okay to talk about suicide: Patients’ reasons for concealing suicidal ideation in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Research: Journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, 30(1), 124–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2018.1543977
4.
BryanC. J.AllenM. H.BryanA. O.ThomsenC. J.BakerJ. C.MayA. M. (2023). Does suicide risk screening improve the identification of primary care patients who will attempt suicide versus depression screening alone?Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 49(12), 680–688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjq.2023.08.008
5.
CandiaJ.QuijadaJ.SanhuezaG.ZúñigaL. (in press). Psychometric analysis of the General Health Questionnaire with Chilean inmates. Salud Mental (México).
6.
Ceballos-EspinozaF.Chávez-HernándezA. M.Padilla-GallegosG. M.LeenaarsA. A. (2016). Suicidio en las cárceles de Chile durante la década 2006-2015. Revista Criminalidad, 58(3), 101–118. https://www.scielo.org.co/pdf/crim/v58n3/v58n3a09.pdf
7.
DammertL.SampóC. (2025). La evolución del crimen organizado en América Latina.
8.
EidhinM. N.SheehyN.O'SullivanM.McLeaveyB. (2002). Perceptions of the environment, suicidal ideation and problem-solving deficits in an offender population. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 7(2), 187–201. https://doi.org/10.1348/135532502760274792
9.
EspinozaO.MartínezF.SanhuezaG. (2014). El Sistema penitenciario y su Impacto en los Derechos Humanos de las Personas Privadasde Libertad. En: Informe sobre Derechos Humanos en Chile 2014. Santiago: Ediciones Universidad Diego Portales.
10.
FanarragaI.BarthelemyS.KoetzleD.MellowJ. (2022). A content analysis of prison websites: Exploring approaches to rehabilitation in Latin America. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 66(6-7), 718–734. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211010292
11.
FavrilL. (2021). Epidemiology, risk factors, and prevention of suicidal thoughts and behaviour in prisons: A literature review. Psychologica Belgica, 61(1), 341–355. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.1072
12.
FavrilL.O'ConnorR. C.HawtonK.Vander LaenenF. (2020a). Factors associated with the transition from suicidal ideation to suicide attempt in prison. European Psychiatry: The Journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 63(1), e101. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.101
13.
FavrilL.YuR.HawtonK.FazelS. (2020b). Risk factors for self-harm in prison: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(8), 682–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30190-5
14.
FranklinJ. C.RibeiroJ. D.FoxK. R.BentleyK. H.KleimanE. M.HuangX.MusacchioK. M.JaroszewskiA. C.ChangB. P.NockM. K. (2017). Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Psychological Bulletin, 143(2), 187–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000084
15.
FritzF. D.FazelS.Benavides SalcedoA.HenryP.Rivera ArroyoG.ToralesJ.Trujillo OrregoN.VásquezF.MundtA. P. (2021). 1324 Prison suicides in 10 countries in South America: Incidence, relative risks, and ecological factors. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56(2), 315–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01871-3
16.
GoodingP.TarrierN.DunnG.ShawJ.AwenatY.UlphF.PrattD. (2015). The moderating effects of coping and self-esteem on the relationship between defeat, entrapment and suicidality in a sample of prisoners at high risk of suicide. European Psychiatry, 30(8), 988–994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2015.09.002
17.
GoodwillJ. R.TaylorR. J.WatkinsD. C. (2021). Everyday discrimination, depressive symptoms, and suicide ideation among African American men. Archives of Suicide Research, 25(1), 74–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2019.1660287
18.
HawtonK.LinsellL.AdenijiT.SariaslanA.FazelS. (2014). Self-harm in prisons in England and Wales: An epidemiological study of prevalence, risk factors, clustering, and subsequent suicide. The Lancet, 383(9923), 1147–1154. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62118-2
19.
KlonskyE. D.Dixon-LuinenburgT.MayA. M. (2021). The critical distinction between suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. World Psychiatry: Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association, 20(3), 439–441. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20909
20.
KonradN.DaigleM. S.DanielA. E.DearG. E.FrottierP.HayesL. M.KerkhofA.LieblingA.SarchiaponeM. (2007). Preventing suicide in prisons, part I: Recommendations from the international association for suicide prevention task force on suicide in prisons. Crisis : The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 28(3), 113–121. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910.28.3.113
21.
KwonS.HanD. (2019). Discrimination, mental disorders, and suicidal ideation in latino adults: Decomposing the effects of discrimination. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21(1), 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0726-5
LieblingA. (1999). Prison suicide and prisoner coping. Crime and Justice, 26(1), 283–359. https://doi.org/10.1086/449299
26.
LieblingA.DurieL.StilesA.TaitS. (2013). Revisiting prison suicide: The role of fairness and distress. In The effects of imprisonment (pp. 209-231). Willan.
27.
MeijersJ.HarteJ. M.MeynenG.CuijpersP.ScherderE. (2018). Reduced self- control after 3 months of imprisonment; a pilot study. Frontiers InPsychology, 9(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00069
Molina-ColomaV.PérezJ.SalaberríaK. (2022). Perfil sociodemográfico, delictivo y psicopatológico en una muestra de mujeres en prisión. Revista Iberoamericana de Diagnóstico y Evaluación Psicológica, 62, 127–134. https://doi.org/10.21865/RIDEP62.1.10
30.
MundtA. P.Cifuentes-GramajoP. A.BaranyiG.FazelS. (2024). Worldwide incidence of suicides in prison: A systematic review with meta-regression analyses. The Lancet. Psychiatry, 11(7), 536–544. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00134-2
31.
NixonL.Goldie-ChaplinG. (2025). Prisoner perceptions of the environmental impact on self-harm and suicidal behaviour. The Journal of Forensic Practice, 27(1), 115–130. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-12-2023-0068
32.
OliveiraC.Basto-PereiraM. (2025). Examining risk and protective factors for suicidal behaviors: A cross-sectional study among Portuguese male inmates. Healthcare, 13(3), 293. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13030293
33.
RibeiroJ. D.FranklinJ. C.FoxK. R.BentleyK. H.KleimanE. M.ChangB. P.NockM. K. (2016). Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors as risk factors for future suicide ideation, attempts, and death: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Medicine, 46(2), 225–236. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291715001804
34.
SanhuezaG.BranderF. y.ReiserL. (2019). Encarcelamiento femenino en Chile: Percepción de calidad de vida y necesidades de intervención. Revista de Ciencias Sociales Universidad de La República, 32(45), 119–145.
35.
SanhuezaG.CandiaJ. (2019). Acceso a la atención sanitaria en cárceles chilenas: Una mirada desde los internos. Revista Española de Sanidad Penitenciaria, 21(1), 10–16. https://doi.org/10.4321/S1575-06202019000100002
36.
SanhuezaG.CandiaJ.ZúñigaL. (2025). Mental health of incarcerated people in Chile: A screening approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(2), 268–281. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22020268
37.
SanhuezaG.OrtúzarC.ValenzuelaE. (2015). El desempeño moral de las cárceles chilenas: un estudio piloto en Colina II. En: Propuestas para Chile 2015. Centro de Políticas Públicas P. Universidad Católica de Chile.
38.
SanhuezaG. E. (2023). Human rights in Chilean prisons: Advances and pending challenges from a social work perspective. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 8(4), 439–448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-023-00276-x
39.
SheehanL.OexleN.ArmasS. A.WanH. T.BushmanM.GloverL.LewyS. A. (2019). Benefits and risks of suicide disclosure. Social Science & Medicine, 223(1), 16–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.01.023
40.
StolikerB. E.WanglerH.AbderhaldenF. P.JewellL. M. (2025). Lifetime and jail-specific suicidal ideation: Prevalence and correlates in a sample of people in jail in the United States. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 69(2-3), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X231170112
SutterM.PerrinP. B. (2016). Discrimination, mental health, and suicidal ideation among LGBTQ people of color. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(1), 98. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000126
43.
SykesG. M. (2007). The society of captives: A study of a maximum security prison. Princeton University Press.
44.
United Nations. (2017). Subcomité para la Prevención de la Tortura y Otros Tratos o Penas Crueles, Inhumanos o Degradantes. Visita a Chile del 4 al 13 de abril de 2016: observaciones y recomendaciones dirigidas al Estado chileno. 2017.
45.
Van OrdenK. A.WitteT. K.CukrowiczK. C.BraithwaiteS. R.SelbyE. A.JoinerT. E. (2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117(2), 575–600. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018697
ZhongS.SeniorM.YuR.PerryA.HawtonK.ShawJ.FazelS. (2021). Risk factors for suicide in prisons: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet: Public Health, 6(3), e164–e174. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30233-4
