NCJ Number
232314
Journal
Victims & Offenders Volume: 1 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 361-368
Date Published
December 2006
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article takes a fresh and critical view of the literature to attempt to delineate the effects of solitary confinement (SC) on mental health.
Abstract
Mental health workers who work in correctional facilities frequently have to assess and treat clients in SC. SC is used as a procedure in correctional facilities for a variety of reasons including punishment, protection of the person, security of the institution, or for more intensive observation. The research in this area reveals mixed findings. Some studies extrapolate findings from social isolation experiments and the findings from prisoner of war (POW) camps. Many other studies have severe limitations. Most of the better studies suggest that SC is not harmful to the majority of people but conclude that some may be less resilient due to their personality construct or perhaps due to mental illness. Further research is needed to clarify this issue. (Published Abstract)