Pullen-Blasnik, HannahSimes, Jessica T.Western, Bruce2022-04-292022-04-292021-11-26H. Pullen-Blasnik, J.T. Simes, B. Western. 2021. "The population prevalence of solitary confinement." Science Advances, Volume 7, Issue 48, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj19282375-2548https://hdl.handle.net/2144/44319Solitary confinement is a severe form of incarceration closely associated with long-lasting psychological harm and poor post-release outcomes. Estimating the population prevalence, we find that 11% of all black men in Pennsylvania, born 1986 to 1989, were incarcerated in solitary confinement by age 32. Reflecting large racial disparities, the population prevalence is only 3.4% for Latinos and 1.4% for white men. About 9% of black men in the state cohort were held in solitary for more than 15 consecutive days, violating the United Nations standards for minimum treatment of incarcerated people. Nearly 1 in 100 black men experienced solitary for a year or longer by age 32. Racial disparities are similar for women, but rates are lower. A decomposition shows that black men’s high risk of solitary confinement stems primarily from their high imprisonment rate. Findings suggest that harsh conditions of U.S. incarceration have population-level effects on black men’s well-being.en-USCopyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S.Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY).http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Article10.1126/sciadv.abj1928713470