There is general consensus among researchers that solitary confinement is psychologically harmful; indeed, research demonstrates that the clinical impacts of isolation can actually be similar to that of physical torture. In addition to increased psychiatric symptoms generally, suicide rates and incidents of self-harm are much higher for prisoners in solitary confinement.
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A Culture of Harm: Taming the Dynamics of Cruelty in Supermax Prisons (2008), Craig Haney, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 35: 956-984
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Beyond Supermax Administrative Segregation: Mississippi's Experience Rethinking Prison Classification and Creating Alternative Mental Health Programs (2009), Kupers et al, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 20, no. 10
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How to Create Madness in Prison (2006) Terry A. Kupers, MD, MSP, in Humane Prisons, David Jones, Ed. (2006), Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing
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Mental Health Issues in Long-Term Solitary and 'Supermax' Confinement (2003), Craig Haney, Crime and Delinquency, vol.49, no. 1
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Patterns of Disturbed Behavior in a Supermax Population (2008), Lovell, Crim Just & Behav 35:985-1004 (results of survey of prisoners in Washington's supermax facilities)
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Prison Punishment Exacerbates Inmates' Psychiatric Illness (2005), Eve Bender, Psychiatric (Vol. 40, no. 21, p. 15)
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Psychiatrists Decry Punishment That Isolates Prisoners (9-03-10), Rich Daly, Psychiatric News (Vol. 45, no. 17, p. 4)
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Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness in U.S. Prisons: A Challenge for Medical Ethics (2010), Metzner & Fellner, J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 38:104–8.
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Supermax Prisons and the Psychological Effects of Isolation (2008),
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The Psychiatric Effects of Solitary Confinement (2006), Stuart Grassian. J Law & Policy, Vol. 22:325 (prepared from a statement given to the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons).
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The Psychological Effects of Solitary Confinement on Prisoners in Supermax Units Reviewing What We Know and Recommending What Should Change (2008), Arrigo & Bullock, Int J Offender Therapy & Comp Criminology, vol. 52, no. 6 622-640
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The Psychological Impact of Incarceration: Implications for Post-Prison Adjustment (2002), Craig Haney
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What To Do With The Survivors? Coping With the Long-Term Effects of Isolated Confinement, Terry A. Kupers, MD, MSP, in Criminal Justice and Behavior