Data were obtained through interviews, observation, participation, statistical records, and informal discussions with correctional staff and prisoners. Important differences were found between inmate suicide attempters and other inmates. Suicide attempters tended to have suffered more severe disadvantage, violence, and family problems, and had had more frequent previous contact with social services and criminal justice agencies. However, the most significant predictor of attempted suicide was an inmate's inability to cope with prison life. The author concludes that imprisonment is directed against vulnerable groups who are then expected to undergo an experience which exceeds the resources available to them to cope with the stress of that experience. 2 tables, 5 notes, and 68 references