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The Relationship Between Age at Incarceration and Lifetime Suicide Attempt Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Adults

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Abstract

To examine the association between age at incarceration and lifetime suicide attempt (SA), and whether it differs by gender. Lifetime prevalence of SA was compared between respondents with no incarceration, juvenile, and adult incarceration who completed the 2012–2013 National Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (N = 36,107). We compared the odds of SA, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric disorders, and childhood adverse experiences, and stratified the results by gender. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of SA relative to no incarceration history was 1.66 (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.32–2.07) for adult incarceration and 2.00 (95% CI 1.49–2.70) for juvenile incarceration. AOR of SA relative to no incarceration history was 2.14 (95% CI 1.56–2.93) for adult and 2.15 (95% CI 1.38–3.35) for juvenile incarceration in women; it was 1.73 (95% CI 1.14–2.60) in juvenile incarceration relative to no incarceration history in men. A history of incarceration may increase SA, particularly among juvenile and women offenders.

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Acknowledgements

This manuscript was prepared using a limited access dataset obtained from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). This manuscript does not reflect the opinions or views of the NIAAA, or the U.S. government.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical Approval

This research was conducted using data from the National Epidemiologic Study of Alcohol Related Conditions -III (NESARC-III). NESARC-III was approved by the National Institute of Health (NIH) Institutional Review Board (IRB) and informed consent was collected from each respondent. This secondary analysis was exempt from full IRB approval for using publicly available data. The authors certify that the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Correspondence to Maggie Smith.

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Smith, M., Udo, T. The Relationship Between Age at Incarceration and Lifetime Suicide Attempt Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Adults. Community Ment Health J 58, 1403–1415 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-022-00952-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-022-00952-8

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