Long-term solitary confinement in prison has long been a source of controversy as most literature and critics of the process say it exacerbates mental illness. Now, a federally-funded study from a diverse group of researchers say this is not the case; solitary confinement does not appear to cause greater psychological mental illness regardless of the type of confinement (general or solitary).
Researchers studied 302 inmates housed in the Colorado Department of Corrections over a year period. Researchers cautioned that although their conclusions do not show greater mental illness as a result of solitary confinement, policy makers should not take these findings as a “one size fits all” across prisons nationwide.
Read the study here.