23% of inmates <u>with a mental illness</u>were being kept in solitary confinement.
Dealing appropriately with mental illness continues to be a problem in prisons in the United States. A 2010 article in <em>The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law </em>described how solitary confinement poses a challenge for medical ethics. The authors summarize: "In recent years, prison officials have increasingly turned to solitary confinement as a way to manage difficult or dangerous prisoners. Many of the prisoners subjected to isolation, which can extend for years, have serious mental illness, and the conditions of solitary confinement can exacerbate their symptoms or provoke recurrence."
Prison life in general can cause or worsen mental illness problems. For instance, studies have indicated that about one-fourth or even as many as one-third of prison and jail inmates show symptoms for major depressive disorder. The rates are highest among women. One study found that incarcerated women were 50% more likely to suffer from depression as women in the outside world. Prison life takes a toll on mental health, and solitary confinement especially does so.
