Understanding the Impacts of Corrections Officer Suicide

In 2016, my colleague Carlos Monteiro and I were awarded a federal grant from the National Institute of Justice to work with the MADOC in conducting an expansive mixed methods study of suicide in corrections. We articulated five primary goals for this work: 1. Develop a nuanced understanding of the context within which officer suicide has occurred; 2. Comprehensively assess the many impacts of correctional officer suicide on families, friends, and colleagues; 3. Better understand the impact of officer suicides on the institutional environment; 4. Identify correlates of (and risk factors for) anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation; and 5. Understand how the structure, function, and composition of officers' social networks might be related to suicide ideation, as well as to indicators of well-being.