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Adjudications and self-harm in prisons during COVID-19: three-year longitudinal analysis of the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway in England and Wales
,
Andrew Jones,
Laura Broome ,
Matthew J. Tonkin,
Aisling O’Meara ,
Carine Lewis,
Rachael Dagnall,
Shadd Maruna,
Jason Davies
BJPsych Open, Volume: 11, Issue: 6, Start page: e267
Swansea University Authors:
Laura Broome , Jason Davies
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1192/bjo.2025.10883
Abstract
Background: The effects of pandemic-related restrictions on people in prisons who tend to have multiple complex health needs are not well understood. Aims: We aimed to measure changes in adjudications and self-harm among people in prisons before and during the pandemic. Method: We examined effects o...
| Published in: | BJPsych Open |
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| ISSN: | 2056-4724 |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2025
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70448 |
| Abstract: |
Background: The effects of pandemic-related restrictions on people in prisons who tend to have multiple complex health needs are not well understood. Aims: We aimed to measure changes in adjudications and self-harm among people in prisons before and during the pandemic. Method: We examined effects of time and demographic characteristics on odds and counts of adjudications and self-harm over a three-year period, starting one year before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 861 individuals from 21 Offender Personality Disorder Pathway prison sites. Results: The odds of adjudicating were lower in people of older age (odds ratio 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96–0.99)), and during COVID-19 year one (odds ratio 0.37 (95% CI: 0.23–0.60)) and year two (odds ratio 0.40 (95% CI: 0.25–0.65)) compared to pre-COVID-19. Being of White ethnicity was associated with increased odds (odds ratio 4.42 (95% CI: 2.06–9.47)) and being older was associated with reduced odds (odds ratio 0.97 (95% CI: 0.95–0.99)) of self-harm. The odds of self-harm were significantly reduced during COVID-19 year two (odds ratio 0.45 (95% CI: 0.26–0.78)), but not during COVID-19 year one (odds ratio 0.68 (95% CI: 0.40–1.14)), compared with the 12 months before COVID-19. Conclusions: Although adjudications and self-harm were generally lower during the pandemic, younger people showed increased odds of adjudications and self-harm compared with older people, while White people showed increased odds of self-harm compared with people of the global majority. Our findings highlight the importance of considering potential health inequities and environmental effects of lockdowns for people in prisons. |
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| Keywords: |
Conduct disorders, social functioning, personality disorders, psychiatry and law, prison |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |
| Funders: |
This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (grant number ES/W000156/1). |
| Issue: |
6 |
| Start Page: |
e267 |