Mental Health in Prisons: Examining Variations in Disorders Across Custody Levels

The United States has a significantly large prison population with the number of people currently in a correctional facility being 1.9 million. Concern has been increasingly growing related to treatment of individuals in prison, particularly when it comes to solitary confinement. Many people believe that solitary confinement is unnecessarily cruel and debilitating to AIC's mental health. Studies have found contradicting information as to whether solitary impacts mental health. Part of the reason for this contradiction stems from the lack of measurement systems that are appropriate for AICs. The measures used in studies are meant for the general population, not individuals in prison. It is essential to find and implement a measurement system that can properly examine the experiences faced in custody. This study uses the SCL90 and Stuart Grassian's concept of isolation syndrome to develop a measure for mental health in prisons. This measure was created through a factor analysis that looked at fear/paranoia and hostility/obsessive compulsive behaviors. It was further found that both factors were positively correlated with negative coping mechanisms and being placed in maximum confinement. Being placed in a lower custody level was negatively correlated as was being more emotionally stable. Finally, it was examined how the aspects of the created measure changed over time. It was determined that fear/paranoia decreased over time while hostility/obsessive compulsiveness increased over time.