Most studies of prisoners, the nature of their offending and any related characteristics have been conducted in rich Western countries. In Nigeria, prison conditions differ in many important respects, key among them that prisoners share large communal spaces much of the time—up to 50 men sleeping in the same space as well as spending the day together. Our aim was to compare levels of impulsivity, aggression and suicide‐related behaviours between prisoners in one prison in Nigeria who had committed a homicide and those who had not, allowing for socio‐demographic factors. A case–control study design was employed with 102 homicide and an equal number of non‐homicide offenders. Each participant was interviewed using the Abbreviated Barratt Impulsiveness Scale for impulsivity, the Modified Overt Aggression Scale for aggression, the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (Module C) for suicide‐related behaviours, and a questionnaire for ascertaining socio‐demographic characteristics. On bivariate analysis, motor impulsivity was higher among homicide offenders (p = .014) while non‐planning was higher among non‐homicide offenders (p = .006), but this relationship was affected by demographic variables. Physical aggression levels did not distinguish the two groups, but homicide offenders were less likely to record property‐directed and auto‐aggressive behaviours (p < .05). By contrast, on average, scores for suicide‐related behaviours were lower among the homicide offenders (p = .001), with non‐homicide offenders showing a mean score in the high‐risk category (13.25; SD, 1.25). As motor impulsivity significantly differentiated the groups, this may be an important measure to add to any risk assessment battery when there are concerns about homicidal behaviours. In this sample, history of interpersonal aggression did not distinguish the groups. People with indications of self‐harm or suicide‐related behaviours may be at less risk of violence to others, but care should be taken in interpreting this finding as it is not entirely consistent with other findings.

中文翻译：

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尼日利亚犯有凶杀罪的囚犯与未犯凶杀的罪犯的冲动，攻击性和自杀性比较

大多数关于囚犯，其犯罪性质和任何相关特征的研究都是在富裕的西方国家进行的。在尼日利亚，监狱条件在许多重要方面有所不同，其中关键的一点是，囚犯大部分时间共享大型公共空间，多达50名男子在同一空间睡觉，并共同度过一天。我们的目的是比较尼日利亚一个监狱中犯有凶杀案的囚犯与未犯凶杀行为的与冲动，侵略和自杀相关的行为的水平，并考虑到社会人口统计学因素。病例对照研究设计用于102名凶杀案和相等数量的非凶杀罪犯。使用简短的Barratt冲动量表进行冲动，使用改良的公开攻击量表进行攻击，对每位参与者进行了访谈，有关自杀相关行为的MINI国际神经精神病学访谈（模块C），以及用于确定社会人口统计学特征的问卷。根据二元分析，凶杀罪犯的运动冲动较高（p = .014），而非谋杀罪犯的非计划性较高（p = .006），但这种关系受到人口统计学变量的影响。身体上的攻击水平没有区分这两组，但是凶杀罪犯不太可能记录财产导向和自动攻击行为（p  <.05）。相比之下，平均而言，凶杀案中自杀相关行为的得分较低（p= .001），非凶杀罪犯在高风险类别中的平均得分为（13.25; SD，1.25）。由于电动机的冲动力使各组明显不同，当担心杀人行为时，这可能是增加风险评估的重要手段。在这个样本中，人际交往的历史没有区分这些群体。有自残或自杀相关行为迹象的人遭受他人暴力的风险较小，但应谨慎解释这一发现，因为它与其他发现并不完全一致。