Psychological effects of imprisonment - Forensic Psychology

Psychological effects of imprisonment:

Prison can have several negative effects, for example:

-        Inmates can become institutionalised, meaning they are unable to function adequately on the outside.

-        Prison is sometimes refered to a ‘school for crime’ as it gives younger and less-experienced inmates an opportunity to learn from the more experienced offenders

-        In 2016, 119 UK inmates committed suicide

-        Prision can also have negative psychological effects on mental health, this was demonstrated by Zimbardo (1973).

Zimbardo (1973) investigated the psychological effects of imprisonment in a simulated prison. 21 male volunteers took part, and were randomly allocated the role of either a prisoner or a guard. It was found that the prisoners conformed to their roles by becoming passive, submissive and miserable – and guards asserted their power. This study had to be halted after 6 days due to the severe negative effects it had on the prisoners, showing that the prison experience can have negative psychological effects on prisoners due to the powerlessness and the de-individuation of the prison regime.

P: The Prison Reform Trust (2014) found that 25% of women and 15% of men in prison reported symptoms indicative of psychosis.
E: Additionally, for the last 20 years, the suicide rate among offenders has been around 15x higher than those in the general population
E: This suggests that custodial sentencing is not effective in rehabilitating the individual, particularly those who are psychologically vulnerable.

P: Many prisoners access education and training whilst in prison increasing the possibility they will find employment upon release.
E: Also, treatment programmes such as anger management and social skills training may give offenders insight into their behaviour, reducing the likelihood of recidivism.
E: This suggests prison may be a worthwhile experience assuming offenders are able to access those programmes.
E+: However, many prisons lack resources to provide these programmes and even, when they can, evidence to support the long-term benefits such schemes is not conclusive.

P: Doherty (2001) cited that the rates of recidivism are 77% for those convicted of burglary and 18% for those convicted of sex offences.
E: This suggests that the rates of recidivism vary according to the type of crime
E: This shows that imprisonment does meet some of its aims for certain types of crime but not for others and therefore it’s only partially effective.