Solitary confinement refers to the seclusion of inmates in cells for a period of 22 to 24 hours a day. States use it as a form of discipline for convicted prisoners to protect vulnerable prisoners or as a way of aiding prison waders in managing inmates (Oudshoom, 2016). The practice of putting incarcerated juveniles in solitary seclusion continues to happen in the United States in some of the states notwithstanding the increasing statistics that demonstrate its adverse psychological effects on the minor who has to go through it.
Negative Impacts of Solitary Confinement
Owing to the state of immaturity and vulnerability of the adolescent brain, many human rights organizations as well as professionals have discouraged it. Following such advocacies, several states have made significant strides in eliminating or at least reducing this practice although some prison facilities continue to uphold juvenile solitary confinement. Clinicians who work in correctional facilities understand the negative impacts of this practice and are thus faced with the dilemma on how to handle the issue; they have to serve their patients, yet they have to witness how they undergo the state-sanctioned practice that threatens to derail their objectives of improving the patient's well-being. Currently, the clinicians have to bear with the prevailing status quo, but with the increasing statistics on the psychological damage on minors, soon, they may be legally and ethically forced to report such as child abuse though it may not be investigated (Drinan, 2017).
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The psychological damage borne by minors as a result of solitary confinement is profound. The adolescent stage of development is very critical; it is a phase where psychological, neurological as well as social faculties are experiencing major structural growth. The frontal lobe which is part of the brain that is involved with cognitive processing is at a very crucial stage of development (Clark, 2017). According to Clark (2017), cognitive functions include planning, organizing, strategizing among others. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a subsection of the frontal lobe which is responsible for the inhibition of impulses and the reflection of consequences, continues to develop into the mid-20. As such, this practice exposes the victim to the risk of long-term developmental impairment in these areas as well as general psychological harm.
Young people who have been exposed to this treatment indicate higher prevalence on the risk of self-harm, suicide, reintegration problems, violent behaviors, depression, panic attacks, hallucinations, cognitive deficits, paranoia, obsessive thinking, anger, and anxiety. Even to grownups, solitary confinement has psychological severe effects, making it even more destructive to young people. Kalief Browder is one such victim who was charged with hitting a person and taking their backpack. He was a minor at the time and ended up spending three years on Rikers Island from ages 16 to 19. After the court discovered that he did not commit the offense, it dismissed the case (Clark, 2017). However, the damage was already done; he was subjected to solitary confinement for two years and suffered acute trauma that led to him committing suicide shortly after since he felt as if he was still in prison even after his release.
Conclusion
Correctional facilities use solitary confinement as a state-sanctioned method of disciplinary punishment administered to certain inmates. However, related studies have widely indicated that this form of treatment has long-term psychological impacts on the victim and is especially destructive to a juvenile, whose brain is at a critical phase of development. The part of the brain responsible for cognitive processing is still forming, and solitary confinement disrupts its normal development, negatively affecting the victim later in life when they are already grown up. One of the purposes of correctional facilities is to reform offenders and help them reintegrate back into society. Such a treatment undermines this objective as it affects the normal psychological growth and development, making it difficult for the victim to relate well with other people in society after serving their time in jail.
References
Clark, A.B. (2017). Juvenile Solitary Confinement as a Form of Child Abuse. The Journal of
the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 45 (3), 350-357. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28939734
Drinan, C. H. (2017). War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost its Way (6 th ed.).
Oxford University Press.
Oudshoorn, J. (2016). Trauma-informed juvenile justice in the United States (6 th ed.). CSPI
