The population prevalence of solitary confinement

Abstract

Solitary confinement is a severe form of incarceration closely associated with long-lasting psychological harm and poor post-release outcomes. Estimating the population prevalence, we find that 11% of all black men in Pennsylvania, born 1986 to 1989, were incarcerated in solitary confinement by age 32. Reflecting large racial disparities, the population prevalence is only 3.4% for Latinos and 1.4% for white men. About 9% of black men in the state cohort were held in solitary for more than 15 consecutive days, violating the United Nations standards for minimum treatment of incarcerated people. Nearly 1 in 100 black men experienced solitary for a year or longer by age 32. Racial disparities are similar for women, but rates are lower. A decomposition shows that black men's high risk of solitary confinement stems primarily from their high imprisonment rate. Findings suggest that harsh conditions of U.S. incarceration have population-level effects on black men's well-being.

The Impact Of COVID-19 On The Health Of Incarcerated Older Adults In California State Prisons

“…31 In many US prisons during the pandemic, people requiring quarantine were placed in cells previously used for solitary confinement and were subject to the punitive measures associated with this housing type, such as restricted access to personal property and calls with family. 32,33 Older adults who spent many weeks or longer alone in quarantine could be at differentially high risk for developing the well-known geriatric health consequences of social isolation, which can include functional decline or impairment, loss of mobility, and even mortality. 34,35 Thus, high rates of quarantine among incarcerated older adults found in our study could suggest a heightened risk for longer-term adverse geriatric health impacts related to being incarcerated during the pandemic.…”

Lifetime risk of imprisonment in the United States remains high and starkly unequal

“…However, imprisonment rates remain at historically high levels, and this is reflected in our estimates of Americans’ very high lifetime risk of imprisonment in 2016. Prison incarceration is still a common life-course event in the United States, particularly among its most disadvantaged groups ( 22 ).…”

Self-injury and the embodiment of solitary confinement among adult men in Louisiana prisons

“…Recent studies have also found racial disparities in solitary confinement ( Pullen-Blasnik et al, 2021 ; Sakoda & Simes, 2021 ; Schlanger, 2012 ). In part, the resurgence of solitary confinement into the mass incarceration era was retaliatory to political organizing and uprisings within prisons to protest worsening conditions ( Gottschalk, 2010 ; Guenther, 2013 ; Woodfox, 2019 ).…”

“…People with serious mental illnesses (SMI), such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, are overrepresented in solitary confinement and especially vulnerable to its harms ( Bertsch et al, 2020 ; Cla-Liman, 2020 ; Reiter & Blair, 2015 ; Reiter et al, 2020 ). In many states, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are disproportionately subjected to solitary confinement relative to their percentage of the overall prison population, while their white counterparts are underrepresented ( Henry, 2022 ; Kaba et al, 2015 ; Pullen-Blasnik et al, 2021 ; Resnik et al, 2018 ).…”