Crowding and Health (IN: Prison Crowding: a Psychological Perspective, by P B Paulus with V C Cox and G McCain)

This chapter presents a study that assessed the effects of crowding on health (reported increases in flu, cold, etc.) & maladaptive behavior (increase in suicide/attempted suicide rates) in American prison inmates. Expressions of psychological stress through various health measures were compared according to degree of exposure to crowding. Results indicated that crowding had short-term effects of increased illness complaints, headaches, & high blood pressure & long-term effects of increased suicide rate, deaths from natural causes, & psychiatric commitments. (SC)