Inmate Mental Health and the Pains of Imprisonment

• In Event: Women in Prison: Distresses, Complexities, and Strains

Abstract

Though it is well-established that many prison inmates suffer from poor mental health, few studies have investigated what particular aspects of the prison environment are responsible for this phenomenon. To address this issue, we use national data on 5,242 state inmates and the 214 state prisons in which these inmates reside to examine how prison conditions are associated with depression and anger, net of individual-level characteristics. Structural equation models indicate that prison over-crowding and the number of inmates charged with rule infractions are positively related to both depression and anger. The average distance between home and the prison and security level were positively associated with depression; the availability of work assignments was negatively associated with depression. In contrast, inmates reported higher levels of anger when the prison did not allow television and when there was a recent prison suicide. These results indicate that some prison characteristics differentially predict depression and anger, suggesting the importance of examining a wide range of prison deprivations in research on inmate mental health. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings, as well as propose future research on the topic of inmate mental health.

Authors

• Timothy Edgemon, University of Georgia

• Jody Clay-Warner, University of Georgia