Search

From the prehistorical to contemporary periods, prisoners' mental health has been a burgeoning issue in the United States (USA). After a decade of incarceration and a misleading penal system, prisoners' mental health has become a discussed topic for scholars not only in the correctional system but also in other disciplines. Despite having diverse initiatives for the improvement of the penal system, few initiatives have been held to take into consideration of prisoner's mental health. To fill this gap, the main purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the mental health of prisoners by analyzing previous research on the mental health of prisoners along with suggesting some probable ways from management information perspectives that can be helpful to reduce a great number of prisoners and bring some positive changes in the correctional system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The promotion of physical activity among imprisoned people is a public health strategy that could help to improve the health status of this collective. This systematic review is aimed at reviewing the scientific evidence regarding the effects of exercise training programs performed by inmates. Methods: A systematic search for randomized controlled trials aimed at identifying the characteristics and effects of prison-based exercise training programs on imprisoned people was carried through MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, and Scopus. Results: A total of 11 randomized controlled studies were selected, and the methodological quality of these was acceptable according to the Downs and Black scale. The proposed interventions were mainly based on the performance of aerobic or combined exercise training programs. Generally, the participants were healthy men who were imprisoned for at least 2 months and up to 15 years. Ten out of the 11 studies reported significant changes on physical and mental health-related variables, after the intervention took place. Conclusion: These findings suggest that prison-based exercise programs constitute a feasible and useful strategy for improving the physical and mental health status of prisoners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing staff turnover rate amongst prison officers in England and Wales may be due to the occupation's range of possible physical and mental health consequences. Prison officers are exposed to illicit substances, experience more psychosomatic health issues, and are at a heightened risk of assault, than most other occupations, with prisoner-on-staff assaults steadily rising in recent years. Also, prison officers have higher rates of mental health disorders than many other occupations, however, a large amount of research in UK prisons has mainly focused on the mental health of prisoners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has reliably shown that rates of mental health issues amongst prisoners are significantly higher than for those in the general population. There is also wealth of data demonstrating that prisons are not synonymous with safety. In the 12 months to December 2022, there was a 21 per cent increase in serious assault incidents, and the number of self-harm incidents has increased by 5 per cent in the 12 months to September 2022. Many of these figures represent individuals with pre-existing trauma, for example, 24 per cent of adult prisoners are care leavers, and 41 per cent observed violence in their homes growing up2. Similarly, prison staff can also be victims of trauma, with research illustrating how officers can experience poor mental health and vicarious trauma as a result of events witnessed in prison34. This project aimed to create well-being by building a Trauma-Informed Care Practice (TICP) safe space in a Category B local jail. The report demonstrates through literature and studies how re-traumatisation for staff and prisoners is not a rarity in the prison estate and therefore, it is important to create an environment that does not inadvertently remind individuals of their trauma5 but rather understands that people are a product of their environment6. Therefore, using the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership7 the researcher and volunteers created two TICP spaces conducive to TICP design. The two spaces were built successfully and have produced a myriad of positive outcomes for staff and prisoner wellbeing that will be outlined throughout this report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies aimed at improving the health and well-being needs of people in prison are increasing in number. The ethical and logistical challenges of conducting this research, however, pose challenges for researchers which can limit its scope. Emerging literature provides insights into these challenges, but little is focused on the Australian perspective, and most are based on the experiences of recruiting and collecting data for ethnographic and qualitative research. Literature describing the challenges of conducting quantitative prospective studies in prisons is limited. Furthermore, despite the fact that people who inject drugs are overrepresented amongst prison populations, and experience higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and poorer health than the general prison population, we are unaware of literature describing the particular sensitivities associated with their recruitment and participation in research in prisons. We intend to address these gaps by drawing on our experience and reflecting on learnings that emerged from longitudinal research we conducted with 400 incarcerated males with recent histories of injecting drug use, in Victoria, Australia. Our aim is to provide guidance and lessons for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La présence de personnes détenues souffrant de troubles psychiatriques est observée depuis la naissance de la prison moderne, et a fluctué depuis, au gré des évolutions institutionnelles psychiatriques et du cadre législatif français. Au 1er janvier 2022, près de 70 000 personnes sont incarcérées dans les 187 établissements français de métropole et d'outre-mer. Dans cette population, une surreprésentation par rapport à la population générale est établie pour de nombreux troubles psychiatriques : le trouble dépressif caractérisé, les troubles psychotiques, le trouble bipolaire, le trouble de stress post-traumatique, les troubles de l'usage de substances et les troubles neuro-développementaux comme le trouble du déficit de l'attention avec/sans hyperactivité. Dans cet entretien avec Jean-Pierre Bouchard, Thomas Fovet et Marion Eck discutent de ce phénomène à partir de données épidémiologiques récentes et de leur expérience personnelle. Certains aspects cliniques spécifiques de la psychiatrie en milieu pénitentiaire sont également abordés. The presence of detainees suffering from psychiatric disorders has been observed since the birth of the modern prison system, and the numbers have fluctuated since then, depending on the evolution of psychiatric facilities and the French legislative framework. As of January 1, 2022, almost 70,000 people were incarcerated in the 187 French correctional institutions in metropolitan and overseas France. Many psychiatric disorders are over-represented in the correctional population compared to the general population, and they include disorders such as depressive, psychotic, bipolar, post-traumatic stress, and substance abuse disorders together with neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit disorder with/without hyperactivity. In this interview with Jean-Pierre Bouchard, Thomas Fovet and Marion Eck discuss this phenomenon based on recent epidemiological data and their personal experience. Some specific clinical aspects of psychiatry in the correctional environment are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the scope of mass incarceration, it is quite appropriate that promote smart decarceration (PSD) has been identified as one of the 13 Grand Challenges for Social Work. The aims of PSD are both ambitious and critical but do not address women explicitly. The authors argue that PSD should incorporate a gendered lens because a gender-responsive framework is critical for these three reasons: (1) women's pathways to incarceration are different than men's and are shaped by their social status and multiple forms of marginalization based on race, socioeconomic status, gender, and other factors; (2) women face gender-specific needs behind bars (especially those related to reproductive health) and have higher rates of behavioral health needs (e.g. mental health disorders, substance use issues) than men; and (3) although men and women face similar reentry challenges (e.g. housing, parenting, economic hardship, behavioral health), women experience many of these risk factors at higher rates, and their social status shapes how these needs impact their reentry. Until social workers and other advocates consider all the various and intersecting identities of all those impacted by the criminal legal system, they will be never be successful in ending mass incarceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ghana, a convicted person is not entitled to parole. The only hope for their return into the community is either completing the sentence or government amnesty. However, recidivists on life sentences are completely denied the chance of returning into the community. This coupled with the demand of adjusting to the country's prison conditions affects the mental well-being of life-sentenced inmates. This study explored the mental health experiences of life-sentenced inmates. An interpretive phenomenological approach guided the analysis of qualitative data collected from 21 life-sentenced inmates who were serving terms in three selected prisons. We employed the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11) mental disorder symptomologies to situate the participants' narration of their experiences. The participants reported feeling sad, hopelessness, and having sleepless days and nights due to thinking about their perceived spoiled plight. They also experienced stress and were fearful of uncertainties due to perceived prison officer apathy and harsh prison conditions. Additionally, the participants resorted to drug use as a means to cope with their mental health experiences. The participants' descriptions of their experiences were consistent with some symptomologies of mental disorders as provided in the DSM-5 and ICD-11 and call for the creation of mental health treatment services in the country's prisons to improve the mental health of inmates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assuming after Clemmer (1940) that prisonization is a process of adaptation to prison conditions, which (especially in the case of long-term prisoners) inevitably involves negative changes occurring in the functioning of the individual, the authors of the study set themselves the goal of checking whether those sentenced to 25 years in prison (N = 124) perceive prison isolation as a stressful situation (author’s questionnaire); what is their level of anxiety (STAI – questionnaire for studying anxiety-trait and anxiety-state); what level of mental resilience characterizes this group of prisoners (Mental Resilience Scale in Kaczmarek’s adaptation) and how they assess their mental health (GHQ-28 – Goldberg Mental Health Assessment Questionnaire). The research partly confirms Clemmer’s thesis – as the length of imprisonment increases, convicts perceive imprisonment more strongly as a stressful situation, and assess their mental health as worse. At the same time, studies have shown that the level of anxiety over time weakens and their mental resilience, i.e. the ability to cope constructively in adverse conditions, increases. Therefore, one should also admit that Clemmer’s opponents might be right as well.

Background: A small proportion of people who have serious mental illness and rapid and frequent incarcerations account for a disproportionate amount of overall service use and cost. It is important to describe such individuals, so that services can respond more effectively.Methods: We investigated a cohort of 4,704 incarcerated men and women who were discharged from a correctional mental health service and followed for a median of 535 days. We investigated social, clinical, demographic, and offense characteristics as predictors of return to the service using Cox survival analyses. Secondly, we characterized individuals as high-frequency service users as those who had 3 or more incarcerations during a 1-year period and investigated their characteristics.Results: We found that a higher rate of return to custody was associated with schizophrenia spectrum/bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), personality disorder traits, crack cocaine and methamphetamine use, and unstable housing. Charges of theft/robbery and breach of probation were also positively associated, and sex assault was negatively associated with return to custody. Within a 1-year time period, we found 7.2% of individuals were high-frequency service users, which accounted for 19.5% of all reincarcerations.Conclusion: Identification of the characteristics of those with mental illness in custody, especially those who have high-frequency returns to custody, may provide opportunity to target resources more effectively. The primary targets of intervention would be to treat those with schizophrenia/BPAD and substance use problems, particularly those using stimulants, and addressing homelessness. This could reduce the problem of repeated criminalization of the mentally ill and reduce the overall incarceration rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prison victimization has been a focus of attention by the scientific community with studies that indicate a high prevalence and negative effects on mental health and social reintegration of prisoners. However, there is few information on intervention responses, so it is relevant to obtain reliable data about intervention strategies that seeks to mitigate its consequences and provide support to victims. Objective: accomplish a detailed description of the literature on psychological intervention that seeks to respond to victimization in prison and its consequences. Method: Systematic review (SR) using the PRISMA-P method. The research was carried out in 10 electronic databases and the data collection and analysis process carried out by two independent researchers. Results: Five publications were included, three quantitative studies and two theoretical articles although none specifically focuses on intervention with individuals subject to prison victimization. This feature is addressed and theoretically analyzed throughout the discussion. Conclusion: There are few publications on intervention with victims of prison victimization and existing ones do not focus on specific intervention in the context of this type of victimization. However, important guidelines were obtained to be included into future intervention proposals. There is a consensus regarding the need to adopt empirically validated intervention models, referring to the Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), specifically to the Trauma-Informed Treatment (TIT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The jail‐based competency treatment (JBCT) model has become an established forensic practice across the country. From the perspective of implementation science and the three core elements of the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Service (PARiHS) framework, the JBCT model is a remarkable example of how context (an unrelenting and overwhelmingly strong demand for forensic beds) has driven multiple state governments to facilitate implementation of a methodology in the absence of empirical evidence supporting its efficacy. This 7‐year study of outcomes from four JBCT program sites provides this much‐needed evidence by showing that JBCT restored 56% of 1553 male and 336 female patients over an average of 48.7 days. At the same time, the study highlights how variations in JBCT models, methods, and preadmission stabilization time present challenges to planned and effective implementation of evidence‐based practice at the statewide system level. By identifying differential responsiveness to JBCT treatment by diagnosis and other factors, the study suggests preliminary implementation ideas for what types of patients are well served by the JBCT model as part of a continuum of restoration options that includes inpatient, outpatient and diversion. Significant findings showed that JBCT patients were restored at a higher rate and in a shorter time if they were female, < 20 years old (highest restoration rate; those < 60 years old also significantly better rates), free of co‐occurring intellectual and cognitive deficits, and malingering. Of the major diagnoses, schizoaffective disorder required a significantly longer length of JBCT treatment for restoration, and lower restoration rates than schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, although this was moderated by a significant interaction with abuse of amphetamines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serotonin transporter (SLC6A4), 5-HT2A (HTR2A) and 5-HT2B (HTR2B) recepter genes, express proteins that are important regulators of serotonin reuptake and signaling, and thereby may contribute to the pathogenesis of aggressive criminal behavior. 370 sentenced murderers in Pakistani prisons and 359 men without any history of violence or criminal delinquency were genotyped for six candidate polymorphisms in SLC6A4, HTR2A and HTR2B genes. An association of higher expressing L/L and LA/LA variants of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism was observed with homicidal behavior (bi-allelic: OR = 1.29, p = 0.016, tri-allelic: OR = 1.32, p = 0.015) and in the murderer group only with response to verbal abuse (OR = 2.11, p = 0.015), but not with other measures of self-reported aggression. L/L and LA/LA genotypes of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism were associated with higher aggression scores on STAX1 scale of aggression compared to lower expressing genotypes (S/S, S/LG, LG/LG) in prison inmates. No associations were apparent for other serotonergic gene polymorphisms analyzed. Using the Braineac and GTEx databases, we demonstrated significant eQTL based functional effects for rs25531 in HTTLPR and other serotonergic polymorphisms analyzed in different brain regions and peripheral tissues. In conclusion, these findings implicate SLC6A4* HTTLPR as a major genetic determinant associated with criminal aggression. Future studies are needed to replicate this finding and establish the biologic intermediate phenotypes mediating this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing models of financial extraction in the criminal justice system are applied to the case of profitable telephone contracts in the Los Angeles County jails during the mid-1990s. The case exemplifies instances of a "punishment" model of monetary sanctions, in which profits are derived for crime control purposes, and a "predation" model, in which inmates are seen as potential resources to absolve fiscal crisis and create market opportunities. However, the case contains an additional element: legal demand concerning inmates' mental health care treatment. It is shown that telephone profits in jails could not have been used for predation or punishment purposes without the exploitation of legal ambiguity around inmate's healthcare. Broader implications for the study of financial extraction as a constitutive theory – one that is both historical causal explanation and generalizable description – are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys confirm risk factors for the incarceration of patients with psychosis including homelessness and comorbidity. There is also agreement that severe psychosis can lead to violence. Data describing prisoners with psychosis in Germany are scarce. We aimed to compare patients with psychosis in a prison hospital and patients with psychosis in a community hospital. Demographic data were collected, as well as comorbidity in the form of substance dependence and a psychiatric assessment using the German version of the 18‐item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). In the prison hospital group more patients were homeless (17 versus 2%) and non‐German (36 versus 4%). There were also more patients with substance dependence or abuse in the prison hospital group. The total scores of BPRS and PANSS were lower in the prison hospital group (BPRS, 43.8 versus 51.2; PANSS, 71.5 versus 83.7). We assume that social disintegration for mentally disturbed offenders prior to incarceration hindered effective treatment. To avoid further social disintegration and possible further deterioration of mental health status of released offenders, which may lead to reoffending after imprisonment, discharge management after release from prison should be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increased attention to the links between the criminal justice system and health, how criminal justice contacts shape health and contribute to racial health disparities remains to be better understood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 5,488) and several analytic techniques-including a quasi-treatment-control design, treatment-weighting procedures, and mediation analyses-this study examines how criminal justice contacts shape inflammatory and depressive risk and contribute to black-white health gaps. Findings revealed that incarceration is associated with increased C-reactive protein and depressive risk, particularly for individuals who experienced long durations of incarceration. Arrests are also associated with mental health, and mediation analyses showed that racial disparities in arrests and incarceration were drivers of black-white gaps in depressive symptoms. Together, this study provides new evidence of the role of the criminal justice system in shaping health and patterning black-white health gaps from adolescence through early adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the consensus statement on solitary confinement and health issued by the Santa Cruz Summit as of July 2020. Also cited are the reasons why prison and jail officials confine prisoners like punishment for rule infractions and disruptive prisoner management, as well as the adverse mental and physical effects of confinement like irritability, social withdrawal, and suicide.

This Essay argues against applying the so-called “physical injury” requirement of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) to deny monetary compensation to solitary confinement survivors. The Essay identifies three ways in which misapplication of the PLRA’s physical injury requirement limits the ability of solitary confinement survivors to receive monetary compensation for psychological harm suffered. First, some courts applying the PLRA wrongly dismiss damages claims for alleging “de minimis” physical injury. Second, some courts have been reluctant to find that physical injury caused by psychological trauma satisfies the PLRA’s physical injury requirement. Third, courts do not distinguish between “garden variety” mental and emotional suffering and psychiatric illness in applying the physical injury bar. This Essay contends that this jurisprudence is inconsistent with the goal of preserving meritorious prisoner claims and should be reconsidered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harmful effects of solitary confinement have been established in a variety of direct observations and empirical studies that date back to the nineteenth century, conducted in many different countries by researchers with diverse disciplinary backgrounds. This Essay argues that these effects should be situated and understood in the context of a much larger scientific literature that documents the adverse and sometimes life-threatening psychological and physical consequences of social isolation, social exclusion, loneliness, and the deprivation of caring human touch as they occur in free society. These dangerous conditions are the hallmarks of solitary confinement. Yet they are imposed on prisoners in far more toxic forms that exacerbate their harmful effects, are incurred in addition to the adverse consequences of incarceration per se, and operate in ways that increase their long-term negative impact. This broader empirical and theoretically grounded scientific perspective expands the harmfulness narrative about solitary confinement and argues in favor of much greater restrictions on its use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for the state legislatures in the U.S. to increase the prisoners' access to mental health courts. It examines different structural decisions that states should assess before they agree to expand the mental health courts access. It explores the importance of mental health courts to prisoners who are granted with early-release consideration and community treatment services.

Clinical social work has yet to address the trauma that prisoners experience from solitary confinement. This paper examines the relationship between trauma and solitary confinement from a social work perspective. The conservation of resources (COR) theory and structural racism provide frameworks from which clinical social workers can evaluate and intervene in the traumatic effects of solitary confinement for prisoners. A review of the literature suggests that few concrete interventions exist for clinical social workers to provide evidence-based treatments to prisoners traumatized by the experience of solitary confinement. The effectiveness of nature imagery, Clinical Alternative to Punitive Segregation (CAPS), and the Sanctuary Model for treating the trauma of solitary confinement are reviewed and evaluated based on their alignment with the COR theory of PTSD development, as well as their ability to address structural racism. This paper concludes with implications for both practice and policy and suggestions for future research to ensure that clinical social workers are prepared to advocate for clinical and policy measures that both alleviate the suffering of this vulnerable population and lay the groundwork for the abolition of solitary confinement all together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Le vieillissement de la population pénale en France pose un véritable problème de santé publique. Or, il existe très peu de recherches sur la santé mentale des détenus âgés. L'objectif de cette étude était d'évaluer l'effet de l'âge et de la durée de détention sur les troubles mentaux et sur les performances cognitives de sujets âgés incarcérés. Nous avons recruté 138 détenus de sexe masculin âgés de 50 ans et plus dans sept établissements pénitentiaires français. Le protocole de recherche comprenait un entretien semi-directif, le Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI DSM-IV) pour l'évaluation des troubles mentaux ainsi que la Batterie Rapide d'Efficience Frontale (BREF) et le Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) pour l'évaluation des performances cognitives. Les résultats ont mis en évidence une prévalence très élevée des troubles mentaux, notamment de la dépression et de l'anxiété, et des troubles cognitifs. Toutefois, la probabilité de survenue de certains diagnostics psychiatriques diminue avec l'avancée en âge (épisode dépressif majeur, agoraphobie, état de stress post-traumatique et anxiété généralisée). Par ailleurs, les estimations effectuées par régression logistique n'ont montré aucun lien significatif entre la durée de détention et les troubles mentaux. En revanche, il existe un lien significatif entre la durée de détention et la déficience cognitive. Ces résultats mettent en évidence une très grande vulnérabilité des détenus âgés sur le plan de la santé mentale et soulignent la nécessité de mettre en œuvre des mesures adaptées de dépistage et de soins pour répondre aux besoins spécifiques de cette frange de la population pénale. Inmate aging is considered to start at the age of 50, which is early in relation to aging in the general population. The aging of the criminal population in France poses a real public health problem. There is very little research on the mental health (mental and cognitive disorders) of older inmates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of age and time spent in prison on mental disorders and cognitive performance of elderly prison inmates. We put forward the hypothesis that age and amount of time spent in prison are associated with the deterioration of older inmates' mental health, that is, an increase in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and a decrease in cognitive performance. We recruited 138 men aged 50 and over in seven French prisons. The research protocol included a semi-directive interview, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI DSM-IV) for the assessment of mental disorders, as well as the Rapid Battery for Frontal Efficiency (BREF) and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) for the evaluation of cognitive performance. The average age of the inmates (N = 138) was 59.7 years (range 50–84, SD = 8.02). The average sentence was approximately 13.5 years (SD = 7) and the average time spent in prison was 6.9 years (SD = 5.9). The results showed a very high prevalence of mental disorders, notably depression and anxiety, and cognitive disorders. However, the probability of occurrence of certain psychiatric diagnoses decreases with age (major depressive episode, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety). In addition, logistic regression estimates showed no significant relationship between time spent in prison and mental disorders. However, there is a significant link between time spent in prison and cognitive impairment. Our hypothesis is partially validated. Indeed, age is not associated with mental or cognitive disorders. However, the amount of time spent in prison has an effect on the deterioration of certain cognitive functions. It appears that after the age of 50, it is not chronological age but environmental factors that mainly explain cognitive decline. Our study shows that the longer the detention period, the greater the inmate's cognitive decline. These results highlight the very high vulnerability of elderly prisoners in terms of mental health and emphasize the importance of implementing appropriate detection and care measures to address the needs of this segment of the criminal population. Routine screening for cognitive impairment in all older prisoners should be carried out by caregivers in penitentiary institutions. Furthermore, better follow-up and cognitive assessment of prisoners aged 50 or more and whose length of incarceration exceeds five years could make it possible to detect subjects at risk and to propose appropriate activities to reduce and/or delay the effects of aging in detention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Polish Journal of Social Rehabilitation / Resocjalizacja Polska is the property of Pedagogium Foundation and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

International research provides support for yoga as a well-being intervention in prison. No systematic research has been undertaken in Australia to assess the effectiveness of prison yoga programs. In 2017, the authors, in partnership with Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Corrective Services and the Yoga Foundation, introduced a weekly pilot yoga program at the ACT prison. This article presents quantitative and qualitative findings from the program. Although the small sample size (n = 8) is acknowledged, our findings indicate that participants attained statistically and clinically significant benefit from the program, demonstrated by improvements in their levels of depression, anxiety, self-esteem, goal-direction, negative affect, and non-acceptance. They also reported improved flexibility, sleep and relaxation, pain reduction, and identified improvements in their mental well-being, commenting that the program made them feel "calm" and "at peace." The article concludes by advocating for the expansion of such programs in Australian prisons and further research on such programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mindfulness intervention aims to reduce stress and to improve physical and mental health. The present study investigated feasibility and effectiveness of mindfulness intervention in a prison context, in both a qualitative and quantitative fashion. Specifically, the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention was investigated, in a retrospective pre-post design, in five Dutch prisons. Twenty-two inmates (out of 25 approached, mean age: 40.1 years (SD = 11.1), convicted of murder, manslaughter, sexual offenses, drug offenses, robbery with violence, and/or illegal restraint/kidnap, and sentenced to incarceration between 15 and 209 months (M = 5.5 years; SD = 3.8) took part in a semistructured interview after completion of the MBSR intervention. The interviews addressed level of satisfaction and challenges regarding the MBSR intervention as well as potential effects on stress responsivity, coping style, impulse control, aggression, and self-esteem. Ten staff members and four MBSR instructors were interviewed about their own practical issues experienced while providing or facilitating the MBSR intervention, and about the effects or changes they observed in the inmates who underwent the intervention. Both participants and instructors/prison staff reported improvements in all of the addressed domains and expressed satisfaction with the intervention. Challenges were mainly identified in practical issues regarding the organization of the intervention sessions. Future studies should investigate mindfulness in longitudinal randomly controlled designs, should strive for a multi-method approach, and distinguish inmates according to personality characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L'objectif de cette étude exploratoire était d'appréhender les facteurs de risque de récidive violente auprès d'une population d'hommes incarcérés (n = 21), à travers une investigation du rôle des traits psychopathiques, de l'hétéro-agressivité pro et réactive, de l'auto-agressivité et des tentatives de suicide. L'analyse de nos résultats permet de mettre en exergue différents facteurs de vulnérabilité associés à une probabilité accrue de récidive. Facteurs parmi lesquels nous retrouvons : (1) une prédominance de la sphère comportementale de la psychopathie (Facteur 2) ; (2) la présence de comportements hétéro-agressifs, et plus particulièrement (3) de types réactifs ; et pour finir, (4) la présence d'antécédent(s) de tentative de suicide. Cette étude répond à son objectif principal en cernant certaines modalités psychopathologiques jouant un rôle clé dans le processus de récidive violente. En ce sens, une focalisation sur les différentes expressions de l'agressivité ainsi que sur les traits psychopathiques se révèle être un prisme intéressant pour appréhender la problématique de la récidive de nature violente. Une lecture clinique de nos données nous conduit à formuler l'hypothèse selon laquelle des carences des représentations et des processus mentaux d'élaboration constitueraient des éléments cruciaux permettant de comprendre la répétition d'un agir violent. The objective of this exploratory study was to understand the risk factors for violent recidivism in a population of incarcerated men (n = 21), through an investigation of the role of psychopathic traits, proactive and reactive hetero-aggressiveness, self-aggressiveness and suicide attempts. The analysis of our results highlights various vulnerability factors associated with an increased probability of recidivism. Factors among which we find: (1) a predominance of the behavioural sphere of psychopathy (Factor 2); (2) the presence of hetero-aggressive behaviours, and more particularly (3) reactive types; and finally, (4) the presence of a history of suicide attempt(s). This study fulfills its main objective by identifying certain psychopathological modalities that play a key role in the process of violent recidivism. In this sense, a focus on the different expressions of aggressiveness and on psychopathic traits is an interesting prism for understanding the problem of violent recidivism. A clinical reading of our data leads us to formulate the hypothesis: deficiencies in representations and mental elaboration processes are crucial elements in understanding the repetition of violent action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes several measures of aggression and psychopathy as possible factors involved in criminal recidivism. Sociodemographic data as well as aggression and psychopathy trail measures (CA, IPAS and TRIp) were obtained in a sample of 110 male inmates of a prison in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). The sample consisted of two groups of 55 subjects, characterized by the presence or absence of mental disorder. A total of 55.8% of the participants were persistent offenders. Recidivism showed a statistically significant association (p <0.05) with most of the dimensions studied for aggression, with higher scores on this variable in the group of reoffenders and in the group ot inmates diagnosed with mental disorder. The variable that best predicted the likelihood of re-offending was psychopathic meanness. No statistically significant differences were found between the presence of a mental disorder and recidivism, although a greater percentage of recidivists presented a mental disorder (63.6%). Inmates with mental illness have a higher risk of criminal recidivism and this risk is associated with higher scores in trail aggression as well as higher scores in dismhibition and psychopathic meanness [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author discusses his experience of walking into a maximum-security prison with his driver's license and a locker key. It mentions subject of a true crime series produced by a major cable network and has made a specialty of covering the treatment of prison inmates with serious mental illness, and was nominated for a National Magazine Award. It also mentions storytelling comes with a price.

This survey study attempted to address two research questions: (1) whether female inmates with either singular mental illness or singular substance abuse/dependence disorders were more likely to break institutional rules in prison than their disorder-free counterparts; and (2) whether female inmates with both mental illness and substance abuse/dependence disorders (CODs) were more likely to engage in misbehaviour than either disorder-free or singularly disordered women during the course of their confinement. The current study employed a sample of 643 female inmates and the data for analyses contained information on inmates' CODs, mental and substance abuse/dependence disorders, and pre-prison and prison experiences. The results showed that female inmates with CODs committed the most misconduct in prisons, but no significant effect was found on prison misconduct among inmates with singular disorders and disorder-free female inmates. Possible explanations for these results were suggested, and public policy implications were discussed in the concluding section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores prisoners' observations of mental illness in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century British prisons, recorded in memoirs published following their release. The discipline of separate confinement was lauded for its potential to improve prisoners' minds, inducing reflection and reform, when it was introduced in the 1840s, but in practice led to high levels of mental breakdown. In order to maintain the integrity of the prison system, the prison authorities played down incidences of insanity, while prison chaplains lauded the beneficent influence of cellular isolation. In contrast, as this article demonstrates, prisoners' memoirs offer insights into the prevalence of mental illness in prison, and its poor management, as well as inmates' efforts to manage mental distress. As the prison system became more closed, uniform and penal after the 1860s, the volume of such publications increased. Oscar Wilde's evocative prison writings have attracted considerable attention, but he was only one of many prison authors criticizing the penal system and decrying the damage it inflicted on the mind. Exploration of prison memoirs, it is argued, enhances our understanding of experiences of mental disorder in the underexplored context of the prison, highlighting the prisoners' voice, agency and advocacy of reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this Article is to review existing obstacles exonerees may face in the areas of compensation, mental health, and reentry issues and suggest solutions for exonerated individuals in these areas. Wrongful convictions are a vast issue that have plagued the criminal justice system for centuries. An encompassing response to the dilemma of wrongful convictions is compensation. First, we discuss compensation and how this applies to individuals who have been wrongfully convicted as a result of the plethora of negative consequences they suffer, many of which stem after they have been released. Compensation is anything awarded to someone as atonement for loss, injury, or suffering. Not all states have statutes in place for compensation, and the ones that do are insufficient and not easily attainable. Even with these compensation statues, exonerees are left to deal with many struggles on their own. Our next section addresses a second barrier in exoneration, exploring how exonerees may acquire mental health issues in prison and after release and are left with few resources to cope with after liberation. Third, we examine the lack of support systems designed assist exonerees in their efforts to reintegrate back into society and the stigma exonerees may experience once released. Difficulties of reintegrating into society include deteriorated reputation, trouble with personal relationships, and an inability to attain a steady job and income. Even after exonerees have been freed from incarceration, they may be scrutinized by negative public perceptions associated with their false criminality. Unfortunately, these are only a few of the many problems exonerees are forced to endure. The discrepancies between various state statutes regarding compensation create a void that warrants the need for a comprehensive compensation statue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern studies on the background of anthropocentric methodological matrix with the fundamental idea of learning the language in its functioning as an integrator of thinking and mediator in the mechanisms of consciousness of a speaker that is immersed in life, undergoes transformation, acquires a certain socio-cultural context and becomes a discourse. Such an approach substantiates the interest in the study of the mental basis of various discourse practices, for which a prison discourse covering the communication of prisoners and penitentiaries in places of imprisonment and being a sociocultural center of the prison language is rather specific. The results of the study of the mental resource of modern German prison discourse confirm that there is a significant difference between the literary and real-prison forms that are presented by the authors of literary works on the corresponding subjects and real prisoners. Thus, at the forefront of the literary prison discourse, there is a general psychological knowledge about a person as a biological being, a representative of society, the features of his external and internal body structure, his spiritual space and typical activities, among which the central place in the German author's picture of the world is given to communicative activities. Instead, in real prison discourse, there is a fixed knowledge of prisoners about the prison as a reflection of German society, the prison as an epicentre of a specific subculture and its impact on the emotional and psychological state of the prisoner; cognitive changes taking place in the convicted person's ideas during the stay of the prisoners; the nature and peculiarities of the German penitentiary system, the classification of crimes, the types of punishment under criminal law; processes and physical activities that imbue the prison everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on understanding mental health signs and symptoms in the correctional environment. It mentions about those who have long been involved in community corrections service with a thoughtful overview that will enable line staff to identify key mental health behaviors and to effectively document them in a way that will be helpful in the ongoing treatment of their clients. It also informs on suicidal behavior of prisoners.

Prolonged solitary confinement remains in widespread use in the United States despite many legal challenges. A difficulty when making the legal case against solitary confinement is proffering sufficiently systematic and precise evidence of the detrimental effects of the practice on inmates' mental health. Given this need for further evidence, this Article explores how neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI) might provide new evidence of the effects of solitary confinement on the human brain. This Article argues that both neuroscience and AI are promising in their potential ability to present courts with new types of evidence on the effects of solitary confinement on inmates' brain circuitry. But at present, neither field has collected the type of evidence that is likely to tip the scales against solitary confinement and end the practice. This Article concludes that ending the entrenched practice of solitary confinement will likely require both traditional and novel forms of evidence. In exploring the potential effects of neuroscientific evidence on support for solitary confinement, the Article reports results from an original online experiment with a group of 250 ideologically conservative participants. The analysis finds that the introduction of brain injury reduced conservatives' support for solitary confinement but not to the extent that is likely to make a policy impact. The Article argues that future, more individualized brain evidence may be of greater use, but at present neuroscience is limited in its ability to systematically measure the brain changes that inmates experience in solitary confinement. This Article then turns to AI and argues that it could be developed to provide litigators and inmates with the ability to more effectively document the detrimental effects of solitary confinement. Looking to the future, the Article lays out a vision for an AI system called "Helios," named after the Homeric sun god believed to see and hear everything. The Article envisions Helios as a self-learning AI system with a mission to help inmates and their attorneys gather more systematic evidence of the effects of solitary confinement on inmate health. Helios is also a platform on which additional inmate services might one day be provided. The Article describes how Helios must be carefully designed, with particular attention given to privacy concerns. This Article is organized in seven parts. Part I describes the historical and contemporary use of solitary confinement in the United States, highlighting the known effects of solitary confinement on inmates. Part II summarizes recent constitutional challenges to the practice of solitary confinement. Part III explores the potential for integrating neuroscientific evidence into these legal challenges to solitary confinement. Part IV discusses a new online experiment to explore whether neuroscience might change public opinion on solitary confinement. In Part V, the Article transitions to a consideration of AI. The Article proposes a self-learning system, Helios, and describes how the system would operate. Part VI turns to a series of challenging ethical and legal questions about the design and implementation of Helios. Part VII briefly concludes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the limited resources available in the criminal justice system, and given the financial costs and inmate mental health risks associated with disciplinary segregation, the practice warrants testing and evaluation. Limited research exists on the effect disciplinary segregation has on subsequent inmate misconduct in state prisons. Institutional violation rates for a cohort of male inmates incarcerated by the Oregon Department of Corrections were analyzed. Controlling for other factors, the results of this study indicate that disciplinary segregation was not a significant predictor of subsequent institutional misconduct. The findings also indicate that the experience of disciplinary segregation does not reduce subsequent prison inmate misconduct and therefore suggest that it may not be an effective institutional practice. These results signal that disciplinary segregation should be used in a more judicious and informed manner and that further research should be performed to determine whether disciplinary segregation has a general deterrent effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious mental illness and trauma among persons incarcerated in prisons and jails are issues of growing concern across the nation. This study describes a three-phase process of needs assessment, media development, and pilot testing for a comprehensive curriculum for training correctional officers on the mental health needs of persons who are incarcerated. Following the pilot training, there was a significant increase in correctional officers' knowledge from pretest to posttest, and their ratings of course content and delivery methods were positive. The open-access, downloadable curriculum includes a PDF facilitator's manual, participant handouts and activity cards, PowerPoint presentation slides, and brief videos or animations. The curriculum is ideally suited for delivery to correctional officers working at state and federal prisons, and may also be useful for training officers working in jails, community corrections, or other criminal justice roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]