Co-Authored By:
Also asked, how does incarceration affect mental health?
Mentally ill prisoners are disproportionately placed in solitary confinement as a response to behavioral difficulties, which can cause their mental health to deteriorate further. As a vulnerable population, they are also at a higher risk for abuse by other inmates and correctional staff.
Furthermore, what is the most common mental illness in prisons?
The most common illnesses were major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia and psychotic disorders.” A 2008 survey of state prisons reported that “20 percent of males and 25 percent of females have severe psychiatric symptoms.”
They found that 14% of prisoners and 25% of jail inmates had past 30-day serious psychological distress, compared to 5% of the general population. In addition, 37% of prisoners and 44% of jail inmates had a history of a mental health problem.