The psychological effects of solitary confinement on prisoners in supermax units: Reviewing what we know and recommending what should change

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology

Volumn 52, Issue 6, 2008, Pages 622-640

  Arrigo, Bruce A ^a   Bullock, Jennifer Leslie ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE   (United States)

Author keywords

Abuse of prisoners; Correctional policy reform; Psychological effects; Solitary confinement; Supermax prisons

Indexed keywords

BEHAVIOR CHANGE; CRIMINAL LAW; HOUSING; HUMAN; MEDICAL CARE; MENTAL DISEASE; MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE; MENTAL STRESS; PRISON; PRISONER; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; PSYCHOSOCIAL REHABILITATION; PSYCHOSOCIAL WITHDRAWAL; RACE DIFFERENCE; REVIEW; SENSORY STIMULATION; SEX DIFFERENCE; SOCIAL ISOLATION; SOCIAL STATUS; UNITED STATES;

DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR; HUMANS; MENTAL DISORDERS; MINORITY GROUPS; PREJUDICE; PRISONERS; PUBLIC POLICY; REALITY TESTING; SECURITY MEASURES; SOCIAL ISOLATION; UNITED STATES; VIOLENCE;

EID: 55049123157     PISSN: 0306624X     EISSN: 15526933     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X07309720     Document Type: Review

References (54)

1. Blanchette, K. (2001). Characteristics of administratively segregated offenders in federal corrections. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 43 (1). 131-144.
2. Bonta, J., & Gendreau, P. (1990). Reexamining the cruel and unusual punishment of prison life. Law and Human Behavior, 14 (4). 347-372.
3. Bonta, J., & Gendreau, P. (1995). Reexamining the cruel and unusual punishment of prison life. In T. J. Flanagan (Ed.), Long-term imprisonment: Policy, science, and correctional practice (pp. 75-94). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
4. Cockburn, A. (2001, July 15). Commentary: Insane in the SHU box. Los Angeles Times, p. M5.
5. Committee to End the Marion Lockdown. (1992). From Alcatraz to Marion to Florence: Control unit prisons in the United States. Retrieved November 18, 2006, from www.unix.oit.umass.edu/∼kastor/ceml.html
6. Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. New York: Vintage.
7. French, S.A., & Gendreau, P. (2006). Reducing prison misconduct: What Works! Criminal Justice and Behavior, 33 (2). 185-218.
8. Grassian, S. (1983). Psychopathological effects of solitary confinement. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140 (11). 1450-1454.
9. Grassian, S., & Friedman, N. (1986). Effects of sensory deprivation in psychiatric seclusion and solitary confinement. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 8 (1). 49-65.
10. Haney, C. (1993). " Infamous punishment": The psychological consequences of isolation. National Prison Project Journal, 8 (2). 3-7, 21.
11. Haney, C. (2003). Mental health issues in long-term solitary and "supermax" confinement. Crime & Delinquency, 49 (2). 124-156.
12. Haney, C. (2006). Reforming punishment: Psychological limitations to the pains of imprisonment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
13. Haney, C., & Lynch, M. (1997). Regulating prisons of the future: A psychological analysis of supermax and solitary confinement. New York University Review of Law and Social Change, 23 (4). 477-570.
14. Human Rights Watch. (1997). Human rights watch world report. New York: Author.
15. Human Rights Watch. (2000). Out of sight: Super-maximum security confinement in the United States. Retrieved December 2, 2007, from www.hrw.org/reports/2000/supermax/
16. In re Medley, 134 U.S. 160 (1890).
17. Jackson, M. (2001). The psychological effects of administrative segregation. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 43 (1). 109-116.
18. Jones 'El v. Berge, 164 F. Supp. 2d 1096 (2001).
19. King, R.D. (1999). The rise and rise of supermax: An American solution in search of a problem ? Punishment and Society, 1, 163-168.
20. Kupers, T. (1999). Prison madness: The mental health crisis behind bars and what we must do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
21. Kurki, L., & Morris, N. (2001). The purposes, practices, and problems of supermax prisons. Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, 28, 385-424.
22. Luise, M.A. (1989). Solitary confinement: Legal and psychological considerations. New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement, 15 (2). 301-324.
23. Madrid v. Gomez, 889 F. Supp. 1146 (1995).
24. McCorkle, R.C. (1995). Gender, psychopathology, and institutional behavior: A comparison of male and female mentally ill prison inmates. Journal of Criminal Justice, 23 (1). 53-61.
25. Mears, D.P. (2005). A critical look at supermax prisons. Corrections Compendium, 30, 6-7, 45-49.
26. Mears, D.P., & Reisig, M.D. (2006). The theory and practice of supermax prisons. Punishment and Society, 8, 33-57.
27. Mears, D.P., & Watson, J. (2006). Towards a fair and balance assessment of supermax prisons Justice Quarterly, 23, 232-270.
28. Miller, H.A. (1994). Reexamining psychological distress in the current conditions of segregation. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 1 (1). 39-53.
29. Miller, N. (1995). International protection of the rights of prisoners: Is solitary confinement a violation of international standards ? California Western International Law Journal, 26, 139-172.
30. National Institute of Corrections. (1997). Supermax housing: A survey of current practices, special issues in corrections. Longmont, CO: National Institute of Corrections Information Center.
31. Pizarro, J., & Stenius, V.M.K. (2004). Supermax prisons: Their rise, current practices, and effects on prisoners. Prison Journal, 84 (2). 248-264.
32. Poole, E.D., & Regoli, R.M. (1980). Race, institutional rule breaking, and disciplinary response: A study of discretionary decision making in prison. Law and Society Review, 14 (4). 931-946.
33. Ramirez, J. (1983). Race and the apprehension of inmate misconduct. Journal of Criminal Justice, 11 (4). 413-427.
34. Reiman, J. (2005). The rich get richer and the poor get prison: Ideology, class and criminal justice (7 th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
35. Rhodes, L. (2004). Total confinement: Madness and reason in the maximum security prison. Berkley: University of California Press.
36. Roberts, J.V., & Gebotys, R.J. (2001). Prisoners of isolation: Research on the effects of administrative segregation. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 43 (1). 85-97.
37. Roberts, J.V., & Jackson, M. (1991). Boats against the current: A note on the effects of imprisonment. Law and Human Behavior, 15 (5). 557-562.
38. Rogers, R. (1993). Solitary confinement. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 37 (4). 339-349.
39. Ross, J. I., & Richards, S. C. (Eds.). (2002). Convict criminology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
40. Sandin v. Conner, 115 S. Ct. 2293 (1995).
41. Shaylor, C. (1998). " It's like living in a black hole": Women of color and solitary confinement in the prison industrial complex. New England Journal of Criminal and Civil Confinement, 24 (2). 385-416.
42. Suedfeld, P. (1974). Solitary confinement in the correctional setting: Goals, problems, and suggestions. Corrective and Social Psychiatry and Journal of Behavior Technology, Methods and Therapy, 20 (3). 10-20.
43. Suedfeld, P., Ramirez, C., Deaton, J., & Baker-Brown, G. (1982). Reactions and attributes of prisoners in solitary confinement. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 9 (3). 303-340.
44. Suedfeld, P., & Roy, C. (1975). Using social isolation to change the behavior of disruptive inmates. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 19 (1). 90-99.
45. Thomas, C., Peterson, D., & Zingraff, R. (1978). Structural and social psychological correlates of prisonization. Criminology, 16 (3). 383-393.
46. Toch, H. (1977). Living in prison. New York: Free Press.
47. Toch, H. (2001). The future of supermax confinement. Prison Journal, 81 (3). 376-388.
48. Toch, H. (2003). The contemporary relevance of early experiments with supermax reform. Prison Journal, 83 (2). 221-228.
49. Walker, S. (2006). Sense and nonsense about crime and drugs (6 th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
50. Wright, K.N. (1991). A study of individual, environmental, and interactive effects in explaining adjustment to prison. Justice Quarterly, 18 (2). 217-242.
51. Zamble, E., & Porporino, F.J. (1988). Coping behavior and adaptation in prison inmates. New York: Springer-Verlag.
52. Zinger, I., & Wichmann, C.G. (1999). The psychological effects of 60 days in administrative segregation (Research Report R-#85). Ottawa: Correctional Services of Canada.
53. Zinger, I., Wichmann, C., & Andrews, D.A. (2001). The psychological effect of 60 days in administrative segregation. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 43 (1). 47-83.
54. Zubeck, J.P. (1969). Sensory deprivation: Fifteen years of research. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.