Introduction
Psychologists, human rights activists and the government continue to debate on the real effects of solitary confinement. Pre-existing evidence seems to suggest that any form of solitary confinement possesses significant effect on both the health and comfort of the prisoners, especially those with documented history of mental health disorders. Solitary quarantine has been recognized to cause psychological damage to the prisoners depending on the physical conditions of the prison and the resources that each prisoner is allowed to access and use. There is, however, a profound agreement by researchers that despite the variations on environmental factors surrounding a prisoner, solitary confinement causes negative effects on the health of the prisoner (Smith, 2006). This paper is an assessment of the claim that solitary confinement causes negative effects on the prisoners. To do this, the paper formulates an observation research method to collect data from prisoners, interprets the collected data and makes general conclusions of the major effects, if any, that solitary confinement has on prisoners.
Data Collection
In determining the effects of solitary confinement on prisoners, personal interviews with the prisoners were carried out. Oral and written interviews were administered to selected random prisoners where they were asked about their physical and mental health conditions before and during the solitary confinement. Their historical medical records were obtained and observed over time under varying contexts and environmental factors. The behaviors of the prisoners were observed periodically for notable changes in their interests, priorities, topics they engaged in, people they related with on their release, and sensitiveness to various stimuli that were administered. A control group was set aside where for this group, similar tests and interviews were carried out only that this group was treated in more humane and friendlier environment than the first group. The results from the observation and interviews were then compared and any variations on how the two groups behaved were noted. In this research, the consent from the prisoners was obtained to participate in the research. The collected data was then recorded and the results analyzed.
Data interpretation
After the end of any data collection process, the researchers gather to summarize their findings. In this stage of the research, the observers agree on the basics on how to qualify an observed characteristic from the prisoners. An observer makes a decision on whether to include an observed trait from a certain prisoner depending on its relevance to the topic of study. All observed and collected traits that do not have a strong correlation between solitary confinement and psychological and physical condition of the prisoners were dropped. What is important in making general conclusions is the only trait that was considered. The behaviors of the prisoners were assumed to be lined to their perception on the treatment they received from the prison wardens. It was assumed that their negative attitudes on life and other people basically resulted from mental anguish that they underwent while in prison.
Conclusions from observation
Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment where a prisoner is left alone in secluded cell all day long with minimal opportunities to interact with the outside world. This seclusion from interacting with the world causes severe psychiatric harm. As observed in this research and other historical researches, solitary confinement affects the mental functioning on a greater number of prisoners. It impairs the sensory organs of the prisoners hence renders them unable to recover from isolation and psychological torture that is associated with long incarceration. While the general view of solitary confinement is a good way to deal with severe criminal behaviors, it does not succeed in rehabilitating the affected prisoners.
Solitary confinement leads to high incidences of prisoners having mental disturbances. They suffer psychiatric disorders which clinical officers associate with large amounts of florid delirium. It is a mental disturbance which is typically characterized by hallucinations, violence directed to self and intense agitations. This was observed in prison individuals with and without history in mental illnesses. Prisoners who develop mental disorders due to solitary confinement are unable to successfully adapt to the prison environment.
The monotony of prisoners staying in one position in solitary confinement detention places serves to reduce the sensitivity of the prisoners to tough and other feelings. Research findings have shown that in prison, the victims develop breakdown of the nervous system and sensory organs (Smith, 2006). They, thus, are unable to respond later to simple touch and interact with the environment. Confinement reduces the ability of a prisoner to harmonically relate with environmental stimuli since it is almost deprived from them during such long durations of imprisonment.
Solitary confinement has also been linked to severe cases of depression and the inability of prisoners to control and organize their life and behaviors. For prisoners living day-to-day life in solitude means they have no way to exercise the control and restrain since they have it all for themselves. This creates a problem when they are released from the prison life as they cannot amicably relate and live with people. In the end, it can be concluded that long term confinement in solitude makes prisoners worse than they were socially (Braslow, 2016).They become less kind to the people around them and always violent. High tendencies of suicidal thoughts have also been linked to people who have ever been confined in solitude for a long time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be seen that solitary confinement has many effects on the psychological ability of a prisoner. It generally leads to long term psychological disorders which prisoners find hard to recover upon their release from prison. Despite the insistence by the government of its ability to reform and rehabilitate a prisoner, it leads to untold misery on the prisoner.
Work cited:
Braslow, J. (2016). What Does Solitary Confinement Do To Your Mind?. FRONTLINE. Retrieved 23 April 2016, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/what-does-solitary-confinement-do-to-your-mind/.
Smith, P. (2006). The Effects of Solitary Confinement on Prison Inmates: A Brief History and Review of the Literature. Crime And Justice, 34(1), 441-528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/500626
