Solitary confinement

Solitary confinement is the practice of keeping an incarcerated person apart from other people for most of the day, usually in a cell. It restricts social contact and movement, with conditions and duration varying across institutions.

Supermax prison: A high-security prison designed for prolonged restrictive housing and tightly controlled movement. Supermax facilities institutionalize long-term separation through secure cells and restricted contact.
Psychological effects of solitary confinement: Mental and emotional changes associated with confinement involving severe social and sensory restriction. Anxiety, depression, impaired concentration, and other harms are reported during isolation.
Eastern State Penitentiary: A historic Philadelphia prison opened in 1829, built around individual cells and separate confinement. Its early system made continuous separation central to a prominent penitentiary model.
Protective custody: A form of separation intended to protect an incarcerated person from threats or harm. It shares physical separation with solitary confinement but is framed as protective rather than punitive.
Restrictive housing: A correctional practice that separates incarcerated people from the general prison population under restricted conditions. Solitary confinement is one form of restrictive housing, though the terms are not identical.
Social isolation: A condition in which a person has little contact or meaningful interaction with other people. Solitary confinement intensifies social isolation through deliberately limited contact.
Pennsylvania system: A nineteenth-century prison model emphasizing separate cellular confinement and silence. It formalized isolation as a method intended to encourage reflection and reform.
Administrative segregation: Non-disciplinary separation from the general prison population, often justified by security or management concerns. It may involve solitary conditions without being imposed as a disciplinary sanction.
Prison discipline: The rules and sanctions used by correctional institutions to manage conduct and maintain order. Disciplinary isolation is imposed as a sanction for rule violations.
Sensory deprivation: Reduced access to sensory stimulation compared with a person's usual environment. Barren cells and restricted activity may reduce stimulation alongside social contact.

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