Many disciplinary institutions use some form of isolation from the rest of the population as punishment for discipline breaches. In correctional facilities, many systems use solitary confinement to isolate prisoners who have exhibited some form of offense in the system regulations. In many other countries around the world, prison systems use solitary confinement for inmates serving life sentences. In many instances, these inmates are separated from the rest of the population for their entire time in prison. In other countries that still impose the death penalty, prisoners on death row are typically placed in solitary confinement until their time of execution. Some states use isolation as a disciplinary measure for convicted inmates, to prevent violence against vulnerable inmates, or to help the staff of the prison to manage unruly prisoners. Unfortunately, many other prison systems use solitary confinement to lock away inmates with mental illnesses. Although solitary confinement is rapidly used in prison systems, research shows that it has adverse effects on both the psychological and physical health of the inmates. This paper examines the impact of solitary confinement on the well-being of inmates in American prisons.
Psychological Effects
Many Human Rights Activists and experts oppose the use of solitary confinement in the prison system, citing its damaging effects on the mental health of inmates. Researcher Craig Haney in his article ' the Psychological Effects of Solitary Confinement: A Systematic Critique’ states that solitary confinement not only has severe psychological impacts on the inmates but that also the practice is ineffective and costly (Haney, 2018). According to Haney’s study, prisoners placed in solitary confinement for long periods at the Pelican Bay State Prison in California were found to have higher incidents of trauma and stress compared with their counterparts in normal jail cells (Haney, 2018). He articulates that he has conducted numerous interviews with inmates placed on solitary confinement and concluded that it is a challenging environment that inmates find hard to tolerate. Prisoners held in solitary confinement experience various psychological effects such as emotional, psychotic, and cognitive symptoms. The isolation is primarily harmful to the inmates' mental health as it prevents them from having meaningful social interactions that humans need to remain functional and healthy. Extended stays in confinement result in adverse mental health signs that have severe behavioral and emotional consequences.
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Emotional Effects
In her article titled ‘ Alone, in ‘the hole’: Psychologists probe the mental health effects of solitary confinement ,' Kirsten Weir (2012) says that many prisoners placed in solitary confinement experience a myriad of emotional struggles depending on their length of stay ( Weir, 2012) . Confined inmates have often reported feelings of rage and panic, including poor control of impulses, hostility, and irritability. Several inmates have exhibited different levels of anxiety that range from mild stress to chronic panic attacks. Most of them have shown symptoms of depression, such as withdrawal, hopelessness, and mood swings. Some of the depressive symptoms escalate to higher levels, where individuals may make attempts to ending their own lives. Prisoners assigned to solitary confinement have higher rates of self-harm and suicide as compared to the general prison population detained in normal cells ( Weir, 2012) . Unfortunately, prisoners often carry these symptoms even after they are released from solitary confinement. Many of them exhibit significant aggression, violence, withdrawal, and maladjustment behaviors. Most inmates released from confinement find it challenging to adjust to social contact and have been found to have higher rates of misconduct and hostility towards prison staff.
Cognitive Effects
A study by Hagan et al. (2018) shows that inmates placed in solitary confinement also exhibit signs of deteriorated cognitive processes. In the study titled ‘ History of solitary confinement is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among individuals recently released from prison ,' the authors say that most of the inmates interviewed in the study suffered from memory loss and impaired concentration. Many of these inmates find it difficult to watch television or read because they have gotten used to their isolated state ( Hagan et al., 2018). Confined prisoners also showed heightened symptoms of extreme confusion and disorientation of space and time. They also exhibit disrupted thinking and are unable to maintain coherent thought flows. Most confined inmates also show severe symptoms of psychosis, with many of them experiencing illusions, hallucinations, and severe paranoia. They have a constant belief that they are hated, and they would soon be persecuted. In other cases, inmates were found to be completely paranoid and exhibit full-blown psychosis, forcing them to get hospitalized.
Physical Effects
In addition to experiencing adverse psychological effects, prisoners placed in solitary confinement also exhibit varying physiological symptoms depending on the amount of time they spend in confinement. In an article titled ‘ Restricting the use of solitary confinement ’ author Haney (2018) asserts that inmates placed in solitary confinement often showcase symptoms of hypertension such as severe headaches, sweating, trembling, rapid heart palpitations, and extreme dizziness. Within the first two months in solitary confinement, prisoners also report having trouble with eating and overall digestion (Haney, 2018). Many of them exhibit a severe lack of appetite or irregular digestion accompanied by diarrhea or stomach bloating. Many experience nausea and an extreme loss of weight within the period. Post isolation, many inmates also have problems with their sight, and some of them suffer from body sores as a result of staying in the same place for long periods. Many of them also report feeling chronically lethargic most of the time during their stay in confinement.
Although some of these symptoms may be physical manifestations of other psychological stresses, many of them may be a result of the inmates’ physical confinement state. For example, some inmates report having chronic abdominal pains and muscle pains on the back and neck characterized by lengthy periods of inactivity. Researchers have also concluded that some of these physical effects are directly related to the deprivation of their sensory functions (Haney, 2018; Weir, 2012). Many inmates confined in solitary are often overly sensitive to normal stimuli such as doors closing, and people talking or moving around. This oversensitivity results in them having sleep difficulties and difficulties in concentrating. Most confined prisoners are highly likely to overreact to stimuli. Thus they may find it hard to integrate into the normal system even after release from confinement. Other prisoners may also develop tremors and constant colds, while others develop a poor posture that they carry on even after confinement (Haney, 2018). These adverse physical symptoms get worse with repeated visits to confinement and may worsen psychological symptoms that may already exist.
Conclusion
The literature above articulates that placing inmates in solitary confinement has both adverse psychological effects, such as depression, psychosis, and hopelessness and physiological effects such as hypertension and gastrointestinal disorders. Research findings suggest that the psychological and physiological impacts of solitary confinement are significantly dangerous to the inmates' well-being. Research on the psychological effects of solitary confinement may be limited because most inmates already have mental disorders before being incarcerated, thus making it hard to determine whether or not psychological effects are produced by confinement. Prison systems should research other alternative mechanisms of punishing prisoners who breach discipline in prison or ensure that solitary confinement is for a shorter time. Evidence shows that placing prisoners in solitary confinement does not help to curb indiscipline but rather escalates it by making inmates more aggressive and hostile towards the prison staff and fellow inmates.
References
Hagan, B. O., Wang, E. A., Aminawung, J. A., Albizu-Garcia, C. E., Zaller, N., Nyamu, S., & Fox, A. D. (2018). History of solitary confinement is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among individuals recently released from prison. Journal of Urban Health , 95 (2), 141-148.
Haney, C. (2018). Restricting the use of solitary confinement. Annual Review of Criminology , 1 , 285-310.
Haney, C. (2018). The psychological effects of solitary confinement: A systematic critique. Crime and Justice , 47 (1), 365-416.
Weir, K. (2012). Alone, in ‘the hole’: Psychologists probe the mental health effects of solitary confinement. Monitor on Psychology , 43 (5), 54-56.
