NCJ Number
173322
Journal
Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: 1997 Pages: 85-94
Date Published
1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This research was conducted as a follow-up study of general psychological-distress levels for inmates housed in restricted environments.
Abstract
Subjects were selected from the general population (GP), administrative detention (AD), and disciplinary segregation (DS) of a medium-security Federal correctional institution in Ashland, Ky. A total of 30 male inmates participated in the study (10 from each level of housing). An inmate survey developed by the American Correctional Association (1983) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) (Derogatis, 1975) were self-administered. The BSI has been widely used in studies that have investigated psychological distress in prison settings. Previous research has found increased levels of psychological distress in more restrictive environments, as measured by the global indices of the BSI. This current study supports previous findings, and it found increased distress within three of the nine primary symptom dimensions of the BSI in the current conditions of a Federal correctional institution and its segregation unit. This research is the first to report on the psychological distress symptom of interpersonal sensitivity and to present the possibility that more severe levels of restriction may be increasing the problems within prison rather than relieving them. The reported symptoms of DS inmates make for a dangerous situation within segregation. These emotions may also persist when DS inmates are released back into the general population, although there is no conclusive evidence of this as yet. Further research could assess whether reported feelings such as rage and inferiority, along with thoughts of personal inadequacy and resentment, increase the likelihood of more truancy inside segregation and when the inmate is released back to the general population. Future research should also assess whether the effects of segregation enhance an inmate's chances of being placed there again. 2 tables and 16 references