Psychological Effects of Prisons
Many are aware of the significance of mental illness in the prison system, but what aspect of this is caused by time in the prisons? Which aspects are perpetuated by prison time or do programs within the prison help inmates after they are released? Due to overcrowding, rehabilitation program cutbacks, and many other factors, inmates are experiencing more negative psychological effects than ever in prison. This page will explore these questions along with other themes to explore new ideas on the treatment of mental illness within the prison system in the United States.
Mental Illness Behind Bars
Pennsylvania's Approach to Mental Health
This video created by CNN covers not only how prevalent mental illness is in the prison system, but also how one state is approaching the problem. They are educating staff and providing effective treatment for these inmates. This allows for them to live more freely from the thoughts that seem to trap them each day. [1]
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Not everyone who is incarcerated is mentally ill though, but the effects of incarceration can cause mental health issues in some individuals. There is no evidence that prisons make people "crazy," but the adjustment to prison life does change inmates’ mentality. There is a forced change in behavior and feelings upon entering prison and the more time that is spent there, the more permanent these changes become. These changes force some prisoners to hide behind a "prison mask" which creates a lack of affect and this becomes more permanent with time. This lack of affect causes social issues for inmates and carries into their life after release. [2]
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Some prisoners choose to isolate themselves to best adjust to prison life. This causes similar effects as the "prison mask," but the effects are deeper and longer lasting. This also tends to turn into clinical depression which remains after release. The isolation in prison caused a loss in social ability. In addition to this the loss of privacy causes a lack of self-value which leads to depressive symptoms. If all these things are avoided, prisoners that do try to interact will often experience thing that lead to PTSD symptoms. [2]
Solitary Confinement
"Disables prisoners from free world reintegration"
Solitary confinement is the number one cause of mental illness in the prison system and there is a wide range of issues that it can cause. It has been shown to cause anything from an impaired sense of identity to clinical depression to schizophrenic symptoms such as hallucinations. The time spent in solitary causes an overall deterioration of mental health and stability. The more severe issues are seen in inmates that are sentenced to a complete solitary sentence, but the majority of prisoners that have a stay in solitary experience some negative effects.Â
The video linked below, Our Voices Are Barely Heard," gives a unique glimpse into the lives of those that have been and are being held in solitary confinement. [2]
Suicide in Prisons
Suicide in prisons is an issue not only in the U.S., but around the world. It was found that 67 in every 100,000 prisoners will commit suicide during their sentence and this is by far more common in women than men. It was also found that 41% of suicide victims had been in contact with mental health services within 3 days of their death and that most occur within 7 days of entry into the prison. Places with lower incarceration rates, have more severe crimes represented in prison and higher amounts of mental illness which leads to higher numbers of suicides. Lastly, the most shocking thing is that most suicide victims were found to be at high risk when entering the prison system. [3][4]
These studies also found that there is not clear cause, but factors that can indicate risk level.
Agitation/ recent change in behavior
Prison stressors present
History of substance abuse
Past mental health issues/diagnosis
Committed a violent crime
Housed in a single cell
We can see that there are multiple, complex factors that can result in a suicide and this means that there needs to be an equally intricate means of treatment. These risk indications need to be taken into account when deciding on treatment. [4]
Post-Incarceration Adjustment
The way a prison functions takes away many inmates' abilities to budget their time and create a schedule. This causes issues with functioning after prison especially for those that must go back and support a family with children. They have trouble with decision making and socialization which pushes them into isolation. This causes issues for the children of the family also. [2]
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Inmates that experience trauma within the prison struggle with PTSD and this is worsened after release. Many inmates are members of communities that have a higher concentration of people who have also served prison time. This environment is unsupportive most of the time and this deepens the mental health problems. [2]
Sources
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