ArticleHealth & justice2020
Adverse childhood experiences: a retrospective study to understand their associations with lifetime mental health diagnosis, self-harm or suicide attempt, and current low mental wellbeing in a male Welsh prison population.
Article in Health & justice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of non-suicidal self-injury: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Article
- A Qualitative Co-Production Study of a Solutions-Focused Approach to Understanding the Barriers and Facilitators to Engagement of Male Suicidal Prisoners in Psychological Therapy for Suicide Prevention.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Psychometric properties and network analysis of the brief Adverse Childhood Experiences Abuse Short Form (ACE-ASF) in homosexual and heterosexual.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Adverse health outcomes in violent crime convicted persons: risk factors for somatic inpatient healthcare utilization.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Adverse childhood experience and non-suicidal self-injury in male prisoners: a chain mediating effect through sense of security and emotional problems.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Adverse childhood experiences, and violence and criminal justice outcomes in adulthood-the moderating role of protective and compensatory childhood experiences.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences and Emotional Regulation Difficulties in a Sample of Incarcerated Men.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Psychometric Properties of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Abuse Short Form (ACE-ASF) for Ecuadorian Youth.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025Article
- Adverse childhood experiences and their influence on psychological well-being and emotional intelligence among university students.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Breaking down barriers to mental healthcare access in prison: a qualitative interview study with incarcerated males in Norway.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Childhood maltreatment and NSSI in prisoners: mediation through self-identity and moderation by sensation-seeking.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Understanding the mental health needs of Scotland's prison population: a health needs assessment.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Beliefs about mental health in incarcerated males: a qualitative interview study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Lifetime Experience of Car Crashes and Burns: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Psychometric evaluation of an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) measurement tool: an equitable assessment or reinforcing biases?Health & justice · 2022Article
- Ke ala i ka Mauliola: Native Hawaiian Youth Experiences with Historical Trauma.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Examining the Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Health Risk Behaviours, and Psychological Well-Being in a Convenience Sample of Lithuanian University Students.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Prevention of Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviour in Prisons: A Literature Review.Psychologica Belgica · 2021Review
- Factors associated with the transition from suicidal ideation to suicide attempt in prison.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrisoners are at increased risk of poor mental health and self-harming behaviours, with suicide being the leading cause of death in custody. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as child maltreatment are strong predictors of poor mental health and wellbeing yet despite high levels of ACEs in offender populations, relatively few studies have explored the relationships between ACEs and prisoners' mental health and wellbeing. We conducted an ACE survey with 468 male adult prisoners in a Welsh prison who were not currently considered to be at risk of self-harm and suicide and explored relationships between ACEs, lifetime mental illness diagnosis, self-harm (lifetime and lifetime in prison) or suicide attempt (lifetime and lifetime in prison), and current low mental wellbeing.
resultsMost participants (84.2%) had suffered at least one ACE and 45.5% had suffered ≥4 ACEs. Prevalence of lifetime mental illness diagnosis, self-harm (lifetime and lifetime in prison) or suicide attempt (lifetime and lifetime in prison), and current low mental wellbeing increased with exposure to ACEs. For example, 2.7% of those with no ACEs reported lifetime self-harm or suicide attempt in prison compared with 31.0% (self-harm in prison) and 18.3% (suicide attempt in prison) of those with ≥4 ACEs. Compared with participants with no ACEs, those with ≥4 ACEs were four times more likely to report lifetime mental illness diagnosis and suicide attempt, and over 10 times more likely to report lifetime self-harm than those with no ACEs. Independent of lifetime mental illness diagnosis, self-harm or suicide attempt, participants with ≥4 ACEs were almost three times more likely to have current low mental wellbeing than those with no ACEs.
conclusionsMale prisoners that have suffered multiple ACEs are substantially more likely to have lifetime mental illness diagnosis, self-harm or suicide attempt, and to have current low mental wellbeing whilst in prison. Findings suggest that trauma-informed approaches are needed in prisons to support prisoner mental health and wellbeing.
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