Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Aug;29(4):576-589.
doi: 10.1111/inm.12733. Epub 2020 May 10.

Is mental illness associated with placement into solitary confinement in correctional settings? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Laura Dellazizzo  1   2 , Mimosa Luigi  1   2 , Charles-Édouard Giguère  1 , Marie-Hélène Goulet  1   3 , Alexandre Dumais  1   2   4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Is mental illness associated with placement into solitary confinement in correctional settings? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Laura Dellazizzo et al. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the association between any mental health problem and the risk of being placed into solitary confinement in correctional settings. PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched from each database's inception date to November 2019. All publications assessing both mental health problems and placement into solitary confinement in a sample of adult inmates in correctional settings were included. The meta-analysis was performed using random-effects models. Heterogeneity among study point estimates was assessed with Q statistics and quantified with I2 index. Publication bias was assessed with funnel plots. Guidelines from Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) were followed throughout. After screening 2777 potential studies, 11 studies were included amounting to a total of 163 414 inmates. Included studies comprised of a mix of mental disorders rather than a specific diagnosis per se. The odds ratio (OR) from the pooled studies was 1.62 (confidence interval (CI) = 1.21-2.15). The observed relationship remained unchanged regardless of the removal of outliers (OR = 1.63, CI = 1.47-1.80) and regardless of the adjustment of confounders (OR = 1.58, CI = 1.32-1.88). The present study shows a moderate association between any mental health problem and placement into solitary confinement within a considerable sample of inmates. As more individuals suffering from mental illness enter the correctional system, it is essential that correction officials create new safe interventions to manage these inmates and offer them proper mental health care to limit the use of solitary confinement, which may have deleterious effects.

Keywords: correctional facilities; mental disorders; meta-analysis; prevalence; solitary confinement.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abramsky, S. (2003). Ill-Equipped: US Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness. Human Rights Watch.
    1. Ahalt, C., Haney, C., Rios, S., Fox, M. P., Farabee, D. & Williams, B. (2017). Reducing the use and impact of solitary confinement in corrections. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 13, 41-48.
    1. Andersen, H. S. (2004). Mental health in prison populations. A review-with special emphasis on a study of Danish prisoners on remand. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Supplementum, 424, 5-59.
    1. Andersen, H. S., Sestoft, D., Lillebaek, T., Gabrielsen, G. & Kramp, P. (1996). Prevalence of ICD-10 psychiatric morbidity in random samples of prisoners on remand. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 19, 61-74.
    1. Beaudette, J. N. & Stewart, L. A. (2016). National prevalence of mental disorders among incoming Canadian male offenders. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 61, 624-632.