Self-harm and the prison environment (SHAPE) mixed methods study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Self-harm and the prison environment (SHAPE): A mixed methods study of the role of custody-specific factors in self-harm behaviours amongst men and women in prison
IRAS ID
350490
Contact name
Thomas Stephenson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Self-harm in prisons is a major public health issue and an important risk factor for subsequent suicide.
This research aims to establish the impact of the prison environment on self-harming behaviour amongst both men and women in prison. Exploratory work by the researchers in male prisoners suggested that single cell placement and frequent cell changes were associated with self-harm (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318200). We now want to establish the precise influence of such factors in both male and female prisoners to help to improve the management of such behaviour. We will do this by interviewing and following up groups of male and female prisoners for a 12 week period (the cohort study). We will then use focus groups to explore prisoner and staff views on the findings (the focus group study). Finally, we will interview a small group of female prisoners to explore the detailed perspectives of women (the qualitative study).
The studies will take place at three prisons: HMP Wandsworth and HMP Pentonville (both medium security men’s prisons) and HMP Bronzefield (a high security women’s prison). Adults entering either prison are eligible to participate. We will recruit a random sample of 458 men and women.
Cohort study: Participants will complete two 1-hour baseline assessments before being followed up for 12 weeks. We will conduct two further in-person assessments and examine the participant’s health records at the prison. We will establish which of a range of possible prison environmental factors (including cell placement and staffing measures, amongst others) appear to be related to self-harming behaviour.
Focus group study: We will then use focus groups to explore the perspectives of prisoners and staff on our research findings and their implications for day-to-day practice. Adult self-harming prisoners, peer support workers, supervising officers and healthcare staff at the same prisons, alongside other stakeholders working in the field – including carers – will be eligible to participate in audio-recorded focus groups.
Qualitative study: We will also explore in more detail the impact of prison-related factors on self-harm behaviour amongst female prisoners (having already completed such interviews with male prisoners in our pilot work). We will recruit 10 adult self-harming women at HMP Bronzefield to take part in audio-recorded interviews.
Answering these questions will help to inform prison-wide strategies for reducing self-harm in both male and female prisoners.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NE/0073
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion