Prisoner Emotions: Understanding the pathways to destruction and healing in prison

单独监禁有害吗？它能被认为是康复吗？随着时间的推移，隔离的经历如何影响囚犯的发展轨迹？隔离室是管理一些最困难和最脆弱的囚犯的复杂场所。10%的囚犯至少被隔离一天（Shalev & Edgar, 2015）。单独监禁通常被描述为一种“残酷的生态”（Haney, 2008），也是一种心理折磨（Morris, 2002）。然而，关于单独监禁的影响存在争议，一些人认为这种影响要么是短暂的，要么对一些囚犯来说是有启发的（O'Donnell, 2014）。然而，至关重要的是，这场辩论被剥夺了情感维度：对伤害的心理测量得到了优待，而对囚犯经历的直接描述却被埋没在文献中。考虑到隔离单元的“负荷”和情感强度（愤怒、恐惧和悲伤的表现是司空见惯的），以及情感在塑造行为、决策和社会生活中起着至关重要的作用，对情感的忽视是值得注意的。通过突出情感，这项研究将有助于更细致地了解男女囚犯在隔离期间的经历，推进我们对隔离、绝望周期和暴力途径的理论理解。为了探讨这些问题，本研究将以两个主要研究问题为指导。首先，单独监禁的情感世界的关键动力是什么？这包括探索囚犯经历、管理和心理上应对隔离的方式。这里特别强调的是“情绪调节”，管理情绪的不同方式，以及这些情绪状态在特定时间的强度。第二，经历过隔离的囚犯的情感“路径”是什么？孤独是否开启了导致破坏、暴力和违规循环的轨迹？或者有没有可以观察到的通往治愈、同情和洞察力的途径？关于单独监禁的研究很少考虑到随着时间的推移而发生的变化，或者他们通常没有在报告中包括囚犯对这些变化的描述。相比之下，这项研究将侧重于不同时期的情感发展模式，并试图理解支撑这些模式的变化机制。为了调查这些问题，这项简短的纵向研究将对囚犯进行重复的半结构化访谈（n=80），参与者观察和简短调查（n=200）。实地工作阶段将分为两个阶段（Time-1和Time-2），中间间隔6个月。田野调查的重点是调查社会孤立、感觉剥夺、不活动和控制水平提高等因素如何随着时间的推移影响情感发展。纵向格式使研究能够在个人和群体层面确定样本人口的发展情况（工作与健康研究所，2015年）。除了访谈之外，详细的囚犯观察提供了直接评估行为的机会，并且将向更广泛的囚犯样本（n=200）分发一份调查，这些囚犯在当前刑期的某个时间点经历过单独监禁。这项研究的纵向方法将特别新颖，回应了该学科内最近的呼吁，即更深入地了解拘留环境中的戒断过程。这项研究旨在通过开放这些封闭的制度世界进行实证研究，为与囚犯单独监禁经历相关的政策和实践提供信息，这一点无论是从业者还是学者都知之甚少。这将进一步对被描述为“不流血”（Ferrell, 1999）和缺乏感情的犯罪学文献做出重大贡献。

Is solitary confinement damaging? Can it ever be considered rehabilitative? How does the experience of segregation affect prisoners' developmental trajectories over time?Segregation units are complex places managing some of the most difficult and vulnerable prisoners. Ten per cent of prisoners spend at least one day in segregation (Shalev & Edgar, 2015). Solitary confinement is often described as an 'ecology of cruelty' (Haney, 2008), and a form of psychological torture (Morris, 2002). Yet, there is debate over the effects of solitary, with some arguing that impacts are either short-lived or even enlightening for some prisoners (O'Donnell, 2014). Crucially however, this debate has been shorn of emotional dimensions: psychological measures of harm have been privileged while direct accounts of prisoners' experiences are buried in the literature. The neglect of emotion is remarkable given the 'charge' and emotional intensity of segregation units (where displays of anger, fear and sadness are commonplace) and because emotions play an essential role in shaping behaviour, decision-making and social life. By foregrounding emotion this study will help provide a more nuanced understanding of male and female prisoner experiences in segregation over time, advancing our theoretical understanding of segregation, cycles of despair and routes out of violence.To explore these issues this study will be guided by two primary research questions. First, what are the key dynamics of the emotional world of solitary confinement? This involves exploring the ways in which prisoners experience, manage, and psychologically cope with segregation. Particular emphasis is given here to 'emotion regulation', different ways of managing emotions, and the intensity of these feeling states at particular times. Second, what are the emotional 'pathways' of prisoners who experience segregation? Does solitary set in motion trajectories that lead to destruction, violence, and cycles of infractions? Or are there routes to healing, compassion and insight that can be observed? Few studies of solitary confinement consider changes over time, or they typically fail to include prisoners' accounts of such changes in their reports. By contrast, this study would focus on patterns of emotional development at different time periods and try to understand the mechanisms of change that underpin them.To investigate these questions, this short longitudinal study would blend repeat semi-structured interviews with prisoners (n=80), participant observation, and a short survey (n=200). The fieldwork phase would be formed of two stages (Time-1 and Time-2), separated by a six month gap. The fieldwork focuses on investigating how factors such as social isolation, sensory deprivation, inactivity, and increased levels of control impact emotional development over time. The longitudinal format enables the study to locate developments in the sample population both at the individual and group level (Institute for Work & Health, 2015). Alongside the interviews, detailed prisoner observations provide an opportunity to assess behaviours directly, and a survey will be circulated to a broader sample of prisoners (n=200) who have experienced solitary confinement at some previous point in their current sentence.The research would be particularly novel in its longitudinal approach, answering recent calls within the discipline for greater insight into processes of desistance within custodial settings. The study would aim to inform policy and practice in relation to prisoner experiences of solitary confinement, about which little is known either by practitioners and academics, by opening up these closed institutional worlds to empirical research. It would further contribute significantly to a criminological literature that has been described as 'bloodless' (Ferrell, 1999) and devoid of feeling.