Solitary confinement at any age is considered a severe ordeal in correctional facilities because it takes away social opportunities in many ways. Adolescents who end up in correctional facilities are there to make amends to the victims and to change their behavior to the right one in the future (Tedx Talks, 2016). Moreover, the purpose of incarceration is to overcome the conflict between the individual and their behavior that violates the law. Juveniles commit various crimes by going into solitary confinement for both severe and non-serious crimes (Logan, 2021). If incarceration attempts to get a juvenile back into society to correct his mistakes, I disagree that solitary confinement is the right solution. I believe it is an inappropriate measure that will hurt teenagers and not allow them to integrate into society.
For children and teens, incarceration and punishment are very stressful no matter what crime they have committed. A crime should not put an end to a person if it can be corrected and reparations made to the victims. For adolescents, solitary confinement triggers depression, anxiety, and social distancing. Clinically significant symptoms of depression in solitary confinement are ubiquitous (Reiter et al., 2020). For children, rates of anxiety can be several times higher due to imperfect mental health care in correctional facilities (Logan, 2021). Youth mental health is greatly exacerbated by incarceration, and solitary confinement exacerbates pre-existing disorders, resulting in less effective crime prevention and psychotherapy. Likely, suppose adolescents do not receive proper guidance and assistance in a correctional facility (Tedx Talks, 2016). In that case, their condition will only worsen, and they cannot be expected to reform and behave according to norms upon release.
Reference
Logan, A. (2021). Juveniles in solitary confinement. Undergraduate Review, 16, 192-199. Web.
Reiter, K., Ventura, J., Lovell, D., Augustine, D., Barragan, M., Blair, T., Chesnut, K., Dashtgard, P., Gonzalez, G., Pifer, N., & Strong, J. (2020). Psychological distress in solitary confinement: symptoms, severity, and prevalence in the United States, 2017-2018. American journal of public health, 110(S1), S56–S62. Web.
Tedx Talks. (2016). An insider’s plan for rehabilitating the juvenile justice system | Jeff Wallace | TEDxNaperville [Video]. YouTube. Web.