Prison segregation: administrative detention remedy or mental health problem?

Abstract

This research was performed as a follow-up study of general psychological distress levels for inmates housed in restricted environments. Previous research has found increased levels of psychological distress in more restrictive environments, as measured by the global indices of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). This study supported previous findings and found increased distress within three of the nine primary symptom dimensions of the BSI in the current conditions of a federal correctional institution and its segregation unit. This research is the first to reporton the psychological distress symptom of interpersonal sensitivity and present the possibility that more severe levels of restriction may be increasing the problems within prisons rather than relieving them. The implications of these findings and the direction of future research are discussed.

Shedding Light on “the Hole”: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Adverse Psychological Effects and Mortality Following Solitary Confinement in Correctional Settings

“…Regarding depression and dysthymia, three studies with moderate quality evidence found higher scores in inmates having been exposed to SC (52)(53)(54). However, low quality evidence from two other studies (30,55) and one study with moderate quality evidence (51) did not observe differing depression scores between groups. Lower quality evidence was provided by studies which controlled for minimal (race and ethnicity) or no confounders and instructed inmates to self-report psychological symptoms (30,55).…”

Quantitative syntheses of the effects of administrative segregation on inmates’ well-being.

“…Cohen, , 2008F. Cohen, , 2012Glaze & Herberman, 2013;Grassian, 2006aGrassian, , 2006bHaney, 1993Haney, , 2003Haney, , 2009Hayes & Rowan, 1988;Hresko, 2006;Kupers, 2008;Lovell, 2008;Metzner & Fellner, 2010;Miller & Young, 1997;P. S. Smith, 2008;Stephan, 2008).…”

The psychological impact of solitary: A longitudinal comparison of general population and long‐term administratively segregated male inmates

“…A national survey of prison wardens revealed that AS was generally seen as an effective practice for maintaining order and control by removing disruptive inmates from the general population (GP; Mears & Castro, ), yet research has consistently found adverse effects resulting from the use of AS (e.g., see Haney, ; Morgan et al ., ). Many of these studies have indicated that inmates placed in AS experience a myriad of mental health concerns and symptoms, including appetite and sleep disturbance, anxiety (including panic), depression and hopelessness, irritability, anger and rage, lethargy, psychosis, cognitive rumination, cognitive impairment, social withdrawal, and suicidal ideation and self‐injurious behaviours (see Andersen, Sestoft, Lillebaek, Gabrielsen, & Hemmingsen, ; Bonner, ; Cloyes, Lovell, Allen, & Rhodes, ; Cohen, , , ; Grassian, , ; Haney, , ; Hayes & Rowan, ; Hresko, ; Kupers, ; Lovell, ; Miller & Young, ; Smith, ; Way, Sawyer, Barboza, & Nash, ). While there appears to be a general consensus that AS is a less than ideal correctional policy, especially for vulnerable populations (e.g., juveniles, those with intellectual or mental deficits), it is the magnitude of harm caused by AS that has become a hotly contested issue.…”