Imagine that from year to year you cannot choose who to be with, what to eat and where to go. In such an environment, it is impossible to find love or at least build normal human relationships. You are far away from family and friends.
This is how prisoners live. They have no choice but to adapt. This is especially true for those who received a long sentence by a court decision.
The essence of the problem
In a report to the US government on the psychological impact of imprisonment, social psychologist Craig Haney bluntly stated that few people do not change at all in prison. Based on interviews with hundreds of inmates, researchers at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge noted that long prison sentences make a big difference in people.
Earlier in the field of psychology, it was believed that personality traits remain largely fixed as a person enters adulthood. But recent research has shown that in fact, despite relative stability, our habits, thoughts, behaviors and emotions change significantly, especially in response to the different roles we assume throughout life. Therefore, time spent in prison will inevitably lead to personality changes.
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Those involved in the rehabilitation of former prisoners are concerned that these changes, while helping the person to survive in prison conditions, are counterproductive for their later life after release.
The key features of the prison environment that can lead to personality change are: loss of free choice, lack of privacy, fear, the need to constantly wear a mask of invulnerability and equanimity, and follow strict rules.
Psychologists and criminologists acknowledge that prisoners adapt to their environment. This contributes to a kind of "post-detention syndrome" when they are released.
Impact of imprisonment on long-term convicts
In Boston, interviews were conducted with 25 former prisoners who had been in prison for a long time - an average of 19 years. Analyzing their stories, psychologist Liema and forensic scientist Kunst revealed that these people do not trust others, have difficulty interacting with others, and find it difficult to make decisions. One 42-year-old man, a former prisoner, said he still feels and behaves like he is in prison.
The dominant personality change in such people is the inability to trust others - a kind of constant paranoia.
Research results by scientists from the UK
A similar picture was obtained by Suzy Halley and her colleagues at the Institute of Criminology through interviews with hundreds of prisoners from the UK. Talking about their condition, the perpetrators described the process of emotional numbness. People in jail deliberately hide and suppress their emotions, which exacerbates them. This condition can be characterized as a form of extremely low neuroticism combined with low extraversion and low acceptability. In other words, this is far from the ideal personality model for returning to the outside world.
The effect of short-term imprisonment on personality
To date, all interview studies have involved prisoners who have been in prison for many years. But in February 2018, a paper was published that described neuropsychological tests. Their results demonstrate that even short-term incarceration has an impact on the personality. Researchers tested 37 inmates twice, three months apart. The second test showed higher impulsivity and lower alertness. These cognitive changes may indicate that their conscientiousness - a trait associated with self-discipline, orderliness, and ambition - has deteriorated.
The researchers believe the changes they observed are likely related to the prison environment, including a lack of cognitive problems and a loss of autonomy. They believe this conclusion is extremely important. After all, this may mean that after release, such people will be less able to obey the laws than before they went to prison.
A glimpse of hope
However, other results offer some hope. The researchers compared the individual profiles of inmates with different control groups, including college students and prison guards. They found that while prisoners displayed lower levels of extraversion, openness, and agreement, as you would expect, they actually showed higher levels of conscientiousness, especially order and self-discipline. At the same time, the researchers exclude such an option as rigging the results. For example, if the prisoners tried to make a good impression on the team, while answering the questions in the way they thought was right. The point is that the survey was conducted anonymously and the results were confidential.
What does this mean?
The researchers believe that the findings reflect a form of positive adaptation of the individual to the situation in prisons. In places not so distant, there are very strict rules, and personal space is limited. This environment requires prisoners to maintain order in order to avoid both punishment and negative action from other criminals. In other words, they have to be conscientious in order not to get into trouble.
Dutch scientists' findings
These findings contradict the findings of a study by Dutch scientists. Here the prisoners became more impulsive and less attentive, but they also showed an improvement in their spatial planning abilities, which can be seen as a quality associated with orderliness. Of course, there is a possibility that the high level of conscientiousness observed in Swedish prisoners is specific to the prison system of this particular country, where more emphasis is placed on the treatment and rehabilitation of criminals than in many other states.
conclusions
There is currently a clear lack of research to determine what conditions should be provided to prisoners in order to provide them with better socialization after release. Current evidence suggests that prison life leads to personality changes that can interfere with a person's rehabilitation and reintegration. And to the extent that it can become critical.
At the same time, the results of those studies that show the level of conscientiousness and cooperation of prisoners show that hope is not completely lost. They can form the basis for the development of optimal rehabilitation programs.
These are not just abstract issues of concern to scientists. They have far-reaching implications for the development of society. They influence how we will build relationships with those who break the laws in the future. Currently available evidence suggests that the longer and harsher the incarceration (in terms of restricting freedom, choice and the opportunity to meet with family and develop relationships), the more likely the personality of convicts will be changed in such a way that their reintegration will be extremely difficult. As a result, the former prisoner may soon return to prison again, committing a new crime.
Ultimately, society may be faced with a choice. We can punish offenders more severely and expose them to the risk of changes for the worse, or we can develop sentencing and imprisonment rules to help criminals rehabilitate and change for the better.
Olga Knyazeva