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The aim was to investigate ethnic differences in lifetime self‐harm and attempted suicide in women prisoners, and to examine relationships between self‐harm, suicide and substance use and dependence.

Previous studies have suggested that there may be ethnic differences in the proportion of prisoners reporting substance misuse, self‐harm and attempted suicide, although relatively few minority ethnic women have been studied in the UK. This study examines drug and alcohol dependence in white and black British women in prison, and explores possible associations with self‐harm, suicide attempts, and family violence.

301 women (190 white, 111 black or mixed race) were interviewed in ten prisons from different parts of England. Measures included the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification test (AUDIT), the severity of Dependence Scale (SDS), section C (suicidality) of the MINI …