Suicidal Ideation Among Older Adults in Prison: A Qualitative Study

Suicide is a serious public health concern, and people who are incarcerated represent a particularly high-risk group. Although research on the suicidality of persons in prison has gained interest in recent decades, the issue of suicide among older adults in prison has been understudied. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore the ways in which older adults in prison understood their experiences of suicidal ideation. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was utilized to analyze interviews with 16 incarcerated older adults. The analysis of the findings revealed four themes: (1) Suicide intentions as a control strategy; (2) Suicide intentions as an act of resistance; (3) Suicide intentions as a means of self-redemption, and (4) Suicide intentions in the absence of other choices. Guided by the life course perspective, the findings suggest that suicidal ideation serves as a means of expressing distinct emotional states that may be unique to older adults in carceral environments.