Are People Experiencing the ‘Pains of Imprisonment’ During the COVID-19 Lockdown?

Abstract

Background: By the end of March 2020, more than a fifth of the world's population was in various degrees of "lockdown" in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. This enforced confinement led some to liken lockdown to imprisonment. We directly compared individual's experiences of lockdown with prisoners' experiences of imprisonment in order to determine whether psychological parallels can be drawn between these two forms of confinement. Methods: Online surveys of adults in lockdown in the UK (N = 300) and California (N = 450) were conducted 4 and 5 weeks into lockdown in each region, respectively. The UK data was then compared to Souza and Dhami's (2010) sample of 267 medium security prisoners in England, and the Californian data was compared to Dhami et al.'s (2007) sample of 307 medium security Federal prisoners in California. We measured the effects of Group (Lockdown v. Prison) on five categories of dependent variables (i.e., activity, social contact, thoughts, feelings, and rule-breaking), controlling for demographic differences between the groups. Results: In both regions, people in lockdown thought significantly less often about missing their freedom, as well as missing their family and friends living elsewhere than did first-time prisoners. However, people in lockdown in both regions were also significantly less engaged in a range of daily activities than were first-time prisoners. Additionally, in both regions, people in lockdown reported feeling more hopeless than first-time prisoners. Conclusion: Although Governments introducing lockdown policies do not intend to punish their citizens as courts do when sending convicted offenders to prison, such policies can have unintended adverse consequences. Psychological parallels can be drawn between the two forms of confinement.

COVID‐19 and views of imprisonment in a sample of prison tourists

“…Indeed, pandemics tend to generate fear and anxiety, contributing to discrimination and predation on people pushed to the margins (Freckelton, 2020). The results concord in part with other findings suggesting that people in lockdown experience hopelessness to a greater degree than first‐time prisoners (Dhami et al., 2020 ), and that the pandemic can lead to an “existential vacuum,” or the experience of a feeling of loneliness and a greater survival‐orientation (Kim et al., 2021 ). It is possible that this feeling of “hopelessness” among citizens experiencing COVID‐19 restrictions led to apathy toward prison conditions and the use of imprisonment.…”

“…The combination of restrictions limiting movement and freedom, heightened awareness of uncertainty, a lack of control and a shared feeling of insecurity led to the generalized hypothesis that people writ-large were experiencing something akin to the "pains of imprisonment" (Dhami et al, 2020). Indeed, the pandemic may have created an environment in which the general population experienced living conditions reminiscent but not on the scale of imprisonment and exposure to the hardships of those living in confinement, akin to an extreme form of "prison tourism."…”

Personal Growth and Well-Being in the Time of COVID: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Analysis

“…Physical distancing policies have been found to have overall negative effects on the mental health of young adults in China, exacerbated by a steady stream of dire news about the pandemic (Chen et al, 2020 ). Participant samples from California and the UK have reported feeling more hopeless and less engaged than a comparison group of first-time incarcerated inmates (Dhami et al, 2020 ). Furthermore, increased rates of substance use have also been seen as result of loneliness and isolation as individuals are using substances to cope with the emotional impact of the pandemic (Czeisler et al, 2020 ).…”

Covid-19 and Mental Health: Could Visual Art Exposure Help?

“…Art can help express complex feelings or sensations, avoiding verbal interpretations while allowing for diversion and emotional escape, as has been shown, even during extremely challenging situations, like imprisonment (Gussak, 2007). Given the psychological parallels that can be drawn between imprisonment and COVID-19 lockdown policies (Dhami et al, 2020), art could also, therefore, provide a coping mechanism to counter the negative consequences of this form of confinement.…”