Self-harming behavior (SHB) has become a significant health issue among several populations, including adolescents, traumatized individuals, and persons deprived of liberty. Undoubtedly, incarceration takes a toll on inmates’ mental health due to several stressful experiences while in custody. These taxing events make them vulnerable to maladaptive coping strategies, such as SHB. To date, many studies on this behavior have focused on high-income countries. Research has not explored much on this behavior among inmates in developing countries such as the Philippines. This phenomenological inquiry aims to characterize the experiences of select older male Filipino detainees engaged in SHB. Through vertical and horizontal analyses of the narratives shared, this study conceptualized the Self-Harming Behavior of Older Filipino Detainees as Tension and Compression. This model shows the forces that either pull or push the detainees to engage in self-injurious acts. Specifically, the seven themes surfaced: life dispositions, jail ecology, emotional baggage, physically and chemically-induced self-harming behavior, consequences, coping strategies, and cognizance. Findings from this inquiry may necessitate the provision of adequate and comprehensive prevention and intervention services for the self-harmers in jail, which are geared toward implementing a thorough psychological evaluation and promoting sound psychological well-being.
AndersonK. T.Holloway-LibellJ. (2014). A review of interviewing as “qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences.”Educational Research Journal, 107(5), 428–428. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2014.938514
BaranyiG.SchollC.FazelS.PatelV.PriebeS.MundtA. P. (2019). Severe mental illness and substance use disorders in prisoners in low-income and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence studies. The Lancet Global Health, 7, e461–e471. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(18)30539-4
4.
BarkerE.KõlvesK.De LeoD. (2014). Management of suicidal and self-harming behaviors in prisons: Systematic literature review of evidence-based activities. Archives of Suicide Research, 18(3), 227–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2013.824830
Candaliza–GutrierezF. (2012). Pangkat: Inmate gangs at the New Bilibid Prison maximum security compound. Philippine Sociological Review, 60, 193–237. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43486345
7.
CarliV.JovanovićN.PodlešekA.RoyA.RihmerZ.MaggiS.MarusicD.CesaroC.MarusicA.SarchiaponeM. (2010). The role of impulsivity in self-mutilators, suicide ideators and suicide attempters—A study of 1265 male incarcerated individuals. Journal of Affective Disorders, 123, 116–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2010.02.119
8.
ChandlerA. (2012). Self-injury as embodied emotion work: Managing rationality, emotions and Bodies. Sociology, 46(3), 442–457. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0038038511422589
9.
ChenW. L.ChunC. C. (2019). Association between emotion dysregulation and distinct groups of non-suicidal self-injury in Taiwanese female adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16, 3361. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183361
10.
de GuzmanA. B.CruzT. M. C.GarchitorenaJ. N. A.GatusJ. K.HernandezR. P. R. (2019). Who says aging is lonely? A phenomenology of Filipino older adults’ experiences of happiness when joining international group tours. Educational Gerontology, 45(6), 365–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2019.1640836
11.
Dixon-GordonK.HarrisonN.RoeschR. (2012). Non-Suicidal self-injury within offender populations: A systematic review. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 11(1), 33–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2012.667513
12.
EkanemO. J. (2020). Effectiveness of NSSI interventions among incarcerated women in correctional facilities and secure settings. An Integrative Review. University of Saskatchewan.
13.
Clemente-FaustinoJ.de GuzmanA. (2022). Narrative synthesis of qualitative studies on SHB in the penal setting. The Prison Journal.
14.
FavrilL.Vander LaenenF.VandeviverC.AudenaertK. (2017). Suicidal ideation while incarcerated: Prevalence and correlates in a large sample of male prisoners in Flanders, Belgium. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 55, 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2017.10.005
15.
FavrilL.YuR.HawtonK.FazelS. (2020). Risk factors for self-harm in prison: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7, 682–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30190-5
16.
FazelS.HayesA. J.BartellasK.ClericiM.TrestmanR. (2016). Mental health of prisoners: Prevalence, adverse outcomes, and interventions. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3, 871–881. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(16)30142-0
17.
ForresterA.PiperM. (2017). World Psychiatric Association Prison Public Health Position Statement. www.wpanet.org
18.
GaillardJ. C.Casing-BaringE. M.SacayanD.Balay-AsM.SantosM. (2016). Reducing and managing the risk of disaster in Philippine jails and prisons. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
19.
GallantD.SherryE.NicholsonM. (2015). Recreation or rehabilitation? Managing sport for development programs with prison populations. Sport Management Review, 18(1), 45–56.
GraneheimU. H.LundmanB. (2004). Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: Concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Education Today, 24(2), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2003.10.001
22.
HeidariR.WangmoT.GalliS.ShawD. M.ElgerB. S.HandtkeaV.BretschneiderW. (2017). Accessibility of prison healthcare for elderly inmates, a qualitative assessment. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 52, 223–e228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2017.10.001
23.
HortonM.WrightN.DyerW.Wright-HughesA.FarrinA.MohammedZ.SmithJ.HeyesT.GilbodyS.TennantA. (2014). Assessing the risk of self-harm in an adult offender population: An incidence cohort study. Health Technology Assessment, 18(64), 1–152. https://doi.org/10.3310/hta18640
24.
IrwinJ.CresseyD. R. (1962). Thieves, convicts and the inmate culture. Social Problems, 10, 142–155.
25.
John-EvansH.DaviesB.SellenJ.MercerJ. (2018). Functions of NSSI in prisoners with mental health diagnoses. Mental Health Practice, 21(8), 29–37https://doi.org/10.7748/mhp.2018.e1282
26.
KirillovaK. (2018). Phenomenology for hospitality: Theoretical premises and practical applications. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(11), 3326–3345. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-11-2017-0712
27.
KulmannR.RuddellR. (2005). Elderly Jail Inmates: Problems, prevalence and public health. California Journal of Health Promotion, 3(2) 49–60. https://doi.org/10.32398/cjhp.v3i2.1763
28.
LaCourseA.ListwanS. J.ReidS.HartmanJ. L. (2019). Recidivism and re-entry: The role of individual coping styles. Crime and Delinquency, 65(1), 46–68. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0011128718790497
29.
LeeS.NaragR. E. (2019). Fanning the Flames: Understanding gang involvement among Philippine prisoners. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(3), 424–447. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0306624X18798225
30.
LohnerJ.KonradN. (2006). Deliberate self-harm and suicide attempt in custody: Distinguishing features in male inmates’ self-injurious behavior. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 29(5), 370–385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2006.03.004
31.
LucasH. M.LozanoC. J.ValdezL. P.ManzarateR.LumawagF. A. J. (2018). A grounded theory of successful aging among select incarcerated older Filipino women. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 77, 96–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2018.04.010
Mann, et al. (2019). Review of the literature on self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in gender-diverse children and young people in UK. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 24(2), 304–321. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1359104518812724
34.
MarzanoL.AdlerJ.CiclititaK. (2015). Responding to repetitive, non-suicidal self-harm in an English male prison: Staff experiences, reactions and concerns. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 20, 241–254. https://doi.org/10.1111/lcrp.12025
35.
MorrowR., et al. (2015). Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method. The Psychologist, 28(8), 643–644.
36.
NaragR. E.LeeS. (2018). Putting out fires: Understanding the developmental nature and roles of inmate gangs in the Philippine overcrowded jails. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(11), 3509–3535. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17744726
37.
Open Society Foundations. (2014). Presumption of guilt: The global overuse of pretrial detention. Author.
38.
OxleyC.RobertsJ. E.KraemerS.ArmstrongG. (2017). Punch injury self-harm in young people. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 22(2), 318–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104516664121
39.
PowerJ.SmithH. P.BeaudetteJ. N. (2016). Examining Nock and Prinstein’s four-function model with offenders who self-injure. Personality Disorders Theory Research and Treatment, 7(3), 309–314. https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000177
40.
PretiA.CascioM. T. (2006). Prison suicides and self-harming behaviours in Italy, 1990-2002. Medicine Science and the Law, 46(2), 127–134. https://doi.org/10.1258/rsmmsl.46.2.127
41.
ReimerG. (2008). The Graying of the U.S. Prisoner Population. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 14(3), 202–208.
SheltonD., et al. (2017). Effective interventions for SHB and suicide within detained offender population: Systematic review. Journal for Evidence-based Practice in Correctional Health, 1(2), 3. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/jepch/vol1/iss2/3
44.
ShortV.CooperJ.ShawJ.KenningC.AbelK.Chew-GrahamC. (2009). Custody vs care: Attitudes of prison staff to self-harm in women prisoners—a qualitative study. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 20(3), 408–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/14789940802377114
45.
SmithH.PowerJ. (2015). Applying the dual-taxonomy of offending to self-injury: Do offenders exhibit life-course-persistent self-injurious behavior?Victims & Offenders, 10(2), 179–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2014.913539
46.
SpiegelbergH. (1975). Doing phenomenology: Essays on and in phenomenology (p. 57). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
47.
SykesG. (1958). The society of captives. Princeton University Press.
48.
TartaroC. (2019). Suicide and SH in prisons and jails (2nd ed.). Lexington Books.
49.
TrinidadJ. E. (2020). Religion and the creation of normal appearance findings from a Philippine prison. Social Sciences and Missions, 33, 105–127. https://doi.org/10.1163/18748945-03201018
50.
United Nations. (2015). UN standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners: First adopted Geneva 1955, revised 2015 (Nelson Mandela Rules). Landmark resolution: A/RES/70/175. UN, Geneva.03201018.
51.
WakaiS.SamplS.HiltonL.LigonB. (2014). Women in prison: SHB, risk factors, psychological function and gender-specific interventions. The Prison Journal, 94(3), 347–364. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0032885514537602
52.
WinicovN. (2019). A systematic review of behavioral health interventions for suicidal and self-harming individuals in prisons and jails. Heliyon, 5(9). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02379
World Health Organization. (2007). Preventing suicide in jails and Prisons. International Association for Suicide Prevention.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
