Time Served and Symptoms of Depression and Mania among Current Inmates

• In Event: Causes, Consequences, and Legacies of Mass Incarceration

Abstract

Imprisonment is an experience that can vary greatly by duration, yet we know little about how the amount of time spent behind bars affects health and wellbeing. Time served may affect the mental health of inmates in particular, since longer exposures to the prison environment may prove more, or even less, stressful. However, the majority of research assumes that lengthier sentences are more harmful than shorter ones and also typically operationalized incarceration as a uniform event. This study addresses the gap by using data from the Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities in 2004 to analyze the relationship between time served and mental health symptoms among current inmates. Results suggest that the likelihood of poor mental health increases with time served. However, the fifteen year mark appears to be a turning point at which more time served is associated with improved mental health. These findings suggest that inmates may adapt to the realities of their confinement after a period of time, diminishing some of the detrimental effects of incarceration on psychological wellbeing.

Authors

• Lauren Porter, University of Maryland

• Hedwig Lee, University of Washington