Running head: EFFECTS OF OVERCROWDING 1

Effects of Overcrowding in Prisons on Inmates’ Depression

Beth Rachlin

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

EFFECTS OF OVERCROWDING 2

Abstract

Stemming from recent political and social changes, prison populations are drastically increasing

past the number of inmates the facilities have the means and finances to support. Prisoners

experience many negative psychological effects from living in such crowded quarters. This study

compares prisoners’ levels of depression in spatially and socially crowded areas by administering

a semi-structured questionnaire to inmates in two overcrowded correctional facilities. The

questionnaire was given to an equal proportion of male and female inmates three times over an

18-month span. Results are exploratory but spatial and social crowding are expected to be

associated with different levels of stress and anxiety.

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Effects of Overcrowding in Prisons on Inmates’ Depression

Recently prisons have been experiencing an unprecedented influx of inmates whom they

do not have the means or finances to support without effecting the inmates’ wellbeing. Political

and social factors contribute to how prisons, or correctional facilities, are managed. When

President Nixon began the “war on drugs” in 1971, he advocated for policies such as mandatory

sentencing and more federal drug control agencies, while unintentionally causing prison

populations to skyrocket (“A Brief History of”, n.d.). In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in

“Brown vs. Plata” that the California prisons violated inmates’ 8th amendment rights due to

overcrowding. The prisons held 156,000 inmates while only being legally able to house 85,000

inmates (Newman & Brown, 2012). Due to the recent severe overcrowding of prisons, many

studies, including the proposed study, are examining the psychological effects of prisoners living

in such crowded areas.

The rapid overfilling of prisons is motivating many researchers to analyze exactly how

living in such cramped spaces effects inmates. Inhumanely crowded quarters cause higher levels

of depression and put inmates at a higher risk for depression and suicide. Sharkey (2010)

examined the main contributory factors to suicide among female prisoners, and during interviews

found inmates claimed overcrowding was one of the factors leading to suicidal thoughts. She

asserts if prison staff were more willing and able to communicate with prisoners, suicide risks

would decrease even if the overcrowding was unchanged. Almost all of the participants believed

overcrowding contributed to suicidal thoughts whether it was because of staff being too busy to

treat them like humans, or the anxiety associated with sharing a cell with another person.

Constant noise and activity due to the large number of people in such a small space reportedly

contributed to feelings of being trapped and nervous. This conclusion is supported by other
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researchers who assert people living in an overcrowded space not only experience higher levels

of anxiety and depression but also form a lower tolerance for crowded areas. (Paulus, McCain, &

Chandler, 1975). Overcrowding can increase inmates’ stress levels due to the uncertainty

stemming from forcing cell sharing between prisoners who might not coexist well. The constant

moving of prisoners can lead to anxiety, confusion, and upset feelings since the prisoners are in

foreign, unfamiliar places instead of feeling like their cell is a safe space (Liebling, 1999).

Some suggest the issue is not only overcrowding, but also the changes stemming from

overcrowding. Kupers (1996) asserts the rapidly growing population paired with the declining

state of conditions inside the facilities contributes to traumatic experiences. Lichtenstein, Jenkot,

and Forde (2012) supports this, saying overcrowding decreases recreational space and

rehabilitation programs which in turn provokes inmates to participate in more violent behavior.

A study by Snow, Paton, Oram, and Teers (2002), compared prisons with the highest and lowest

rates of self-inflicted deaths in hopes of finding which factors lead to suicide in prison. Results

indicated the proportion of positive drug tests, average hours of daily purposeful activity, time

out of cell, staff sickness, and staff/prisoner ratios did not differ significantly. However, the level

of overcrowding between the two prisons did, indicating overcrowding plays a significant role in

the emotional stability and depression levels of prisoners. These findings portray the various

negative effects inmates experience while incarcerated due to the exponentially increasing prison

populations.

To better understand if overcrowding, specifically spatial or social density in prisons

have different effects on inmates’ levels of depression, I am proposing a study where prisoners’

mental states, specifically levels of depression, from two correctional facilities will be examined.

Many studies have examined various effects of prison on inmates’ psychological wellbeing,
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however this is the first to examine if spatial and social density effect prisoners’ depression

levels differently. Density, the proportion of inmates to the capacity of a correctional facility, is

often used to determine whether a prison is “overcrowded”, but overcrowding and density are

not interchangeable. Overcrowding is “a psychological condition based on a perception of

limited space by an incarcerated individual” (“Prison Overcrowding”, n.d.). Spatial-density

refers to the square footage of the inmates’ living spaces, calculated as a proportion of inmates to

the available space the facility has to offer. Social-density takes into regard the number of people

occupying an area and is measured by the amount of double and triple bunking found in a prison

(“Prison Overcrowding”, n.d.). A prison is considered overcrowded when its prisoner count

exceeds the certified normal accommodation (CNA). The CNA is the standard level of services

and accommodations that each prison provides to its prisoners (Sharkey, 2010). I hypothesize

that spatial and social density in prisons will be associated with different levels of inmates’ stress

and anxiety.

Method

Participants

Participants will include 128 randomly selected inmates from two correctional facilities.

For the analysis, this sample size provided a power of .75 (α=.05) to detect a medium effect.

Group 1 will be 64 participants who are incarcerated in a spatially overcrowded facility. Group 2

will be 64 participants who are incarcerated in a socially overcrowded facility. All of the

participants will be over 18 years of age. The participants will be half men and half women, with

each group having an even number of women and men. Participants will be recruited by asking

randomly selected inmates if they will be interested in participating. Prisoners are a vulnerable
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population, and IRB guidelines will be followed in order for participants to be at minimal risk

during and after the data collection.

Materials

The Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) will be used to collect self-reported

data. The scale will be printed on paper and given to each participant. This scale is broken into 3

subscales which are comprised of 42 negative emotional symptoms (e.g. hopelessness, self-

deprecation, situational anxiety, subjective experience of anxious affect, difficulty relaxing). The

3 subscales are: Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. Each subscale is presented to participants in

random order, with a four-point scale for each item ranging from “Did not apply to me at all” (0),

to “Applied to me very much, or most of the time” (3). Instructions at the top of the sheet asked

participants to indicate which statement applied to them regarding the past week. Scores for each

scale will be calculated by summing the scores indicated on the questionnaire (Lovibond &

Lovibond, 1993).

Procedure

A researcher and guard will administer the questionnaire to each participant individually

in a safe room within the correctional facility. No time limit will be imposed, however

instructions stress speed and accuracy. After completing the questionnaire, the inmate will be

debriefed then carry on as usual. A small gift of 50$ is given to each participant as an incentive.

Proposed Analysis

In the proposed study, the data analyses will be conducted by running an analysis of

variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA will compare mean DASS scores for Group 1 and Group 2

with α=.05 and a medium effect size. Results are expected to support my hypothesis that there is

a difference between spatial and social density’s effects on inmates’ stress and anxiety levels.
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References

A Brief History of the Drug War. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/new

solutions-drug policy/brief-history-drug-war-0

Kupers, T. A. (1996). Trauma and its sequelae in male prisoners: Effects of confinement,

overcrowding, and diminished services. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 189-196.

Martin, J., Lichtenstein, B., Jenkot, R., & Forde, D. (2012). “They can take us over any time they

want”: correctional officers’ responses to prison crowding. The Prison Journal. 88-105.

Newman, W., Scott, & C. (2012). Brown v. Plata: prison overcrowding in California. Journal of

the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 547-552.

Nicole Shoener, LegalMatch Legal Writer. (n.d.). Three Strikes Laws in Different States.

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different-states.html

Paulus, P., Cox, V., McCain, G., & Chandler, J. (1975). Some effects of crowding in a prison

environment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 5, 86-91.

Ruback, R. B., & Carr, T. S. (1984). Crowding in a woman's prison: attitudinal and behavioral

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64063/

Sharkey, Lauren. (2010). Does overcrowding in prisons exacerbate the risk of suicide among

women prisoners? The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice. 49, 111-124.

Snow, L., Paton, J., Oram, C. and Teers, R. (2002) ‘Self-inflicted deaths during 2001: an analysis

of trends’, British Journal of Forensic Practice, 4 (4), 30–8.

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Tyler, T., & Boeckmann, R. (1997). Three strikes and you are out, but why? The psychology of

public support for punishing rule breakers. Law & Society Review, 237-266.

Wooldredge, J., & Steiner, B. (2009). Comparing methods for examining relationships between

prison overcrowding and inmate violence. Justice Quarterly, 795-826.

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Appendix A