Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

psychological) which may lend themselves to improvement, and in particular those which maycontribute to reduced offending in this population.Solitary Confinement and Mentally Ill Inmates within State Prisons in theUnited States of America: Legal and Clinical ResponsesJeffrey Metzner, University of Colorado (jeffrey.metzner@ucdenver.edu)At year end 2009, US state and federal correctional authorities had jurisdiction over 1,613,656prisoners, an increase of 0.2% (3,897 prisoners) from yearend 2008. This was the smallest annualincrease in the current decade and continued the trend of slower growth observed in the prisonpopulation since 2006. Studies have consistently indicated that 8 to 19 % of prison inmates havepsychiatric disorders that result in significant functional disabilities. U.S. prison officials haveincreasingly embraced a variant of solitary confinement to punish and control difficult ordangerous prisoners. Whether in the so-called supermax prisons that have proliferated over thepast two decades or in segregation (i.e., locked-down housing) units within regular prisons, tensof thousands of prisoners spend years locked up 23 to 24 hours a day in small cells thatfrequently have solid steel doors. Mentally ill inmates are frequently overrepresented in suchlocked down units. The adverse effects of solitary confinement are especially significant forpersons with serious mental illness. Suicides occur disproportionately more often in segregationunits than elsewhere in prison. This presentation will summarize both legal and clinicalresponses to the use of locked down units for housing inmates with a serious mental illness on aprolonged basis.Changes in Mental Health Problems during ImprisonmentA. Dirkzwager, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR)(adirkzwager@nscr.nl)Mental health problems are common in prison populations. However, little knowledge existsregarding changes in symptoms in custody over time. The aims of the current paper are: 1) toexamine the longitudinal course of mental health problems during the first 3 months in custodyand 2) to explore factors associated with changes in prisoners’ mental health problems. Data areused from the Dutch Prison Project, a longitudinal study on the effects of imprisonment on thefurther lives of prisoners. 848 male prisoners provided information on their mental health 3weeks and 3 months after their arrival in prison. The Brief Symptom Inventory was used toassess mental health problems. Compared to the general population, prisoners reported moremental health problems shortly after their arrival in prison. Most mental health problems seem todecline over time. However, after 3 months, prisoners still reported the same level of depressivesymptoms.284