The mediating role of ambition in the relationship between sensation seeking and self-harm behavior in prisoners

The aim of this study is to examine self-injurious behavior among convicted individuals in terms of demographic characteristics and to determine the mediating role of ambition in the relationship between the search for significance and self-injurious behavior. The study employed an appropriate sampling strategy. The participants consisted of 346 adult male convicts selected through convenience sampling from four penal institutions within the Eregli (Konya) Penal Campus. After excluding outliers, the final sample included 332 participants. Data were collected using a Demographic Information Form developed by the researcher, the Quest for Significance Scale, the Inventory of Statements About Self Injury (ISAS), and the Ambition Scale. To determine whether self injurious behavior scores differ according to marital status and duration of incarceration, an independent samples t-test was conducted; differences based on psychiatric medication usage were examined using the Mann-Whitney U test; and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to investigate differences according to age, educational level, and sentence length. In addition, the mediating role of ambition in the relationship between the quest for significance and self-injurious behavior was tested using Structural Equation Modeling via SPSS AMOS 24. The results revealed that participants aged 34–41 exhibited significantly lower levels of self-injurious behavior compared to those aged 42 and above. No significant differences were found in self-injurious behavior based on marital status, educational background, perceived economic status, length of imprisonment so far, or sentence length. However, a significant difference was identified between psychiatric medication use and self-injurious behavior. Moreover, the analysis confirmed that ambition mediated the relationship between the quest for significance and self-injurious behavior. Based on the findings, several recommendations were made for researchers and policymakers.