The Gray Pains of Imprisonment: Examining the Perceptions of Confinement among a Sample of Sexagenarians and Septuagenarians.

While the overall United States prison population has decreased over the last 10 years, the number of sentenced individuals above the age of 50 nearly doubled during the same period. The focus of this study, the pains of imprisonment experienced by the aging, is an under-researched area in the prison literature. Results from a sample of 134 male participants of True Grit, a structured living program for older prisoners, indicate strong agreement among sexagenarians, among septuagenarians, and between them. Previous studies of the pains of imprisonment found similar evaluations of the most and least difficult aspects of incarceration. While different instruments were used, collectively these studies suggest some commonality in the greatest hardships and least problematic aspects of incarceration. Policy implications derived from the present research are considered.

The Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Aging Female Inmates.

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a sample of older female inmates (N = 458). Results indicate that 34% of older female inmates were overweight and 36% were obese; similar percentages were noted for the general population. Race and age were found to be significantly associated with the body mass index categories of healthy weight and obese. White inmates were significantly more likely to be of a healthy weight and significantly less likely to be obese than Black inmates. Age was positively associated with healthy weight and negatively associated with obesity. These two variables remained significant even after they were introduced into logistic regression models predicting healthy weight and obesity. Findings indicate the need for programming to improve the health of this population.

The pains of permanent imprisonment: examining perceptions of confinement among older life without parole inmates.

Previous research has found commonality in the pains of imprisonment reported by English and American long-term inmates. Using a triangulated research methodology, this study examined the hardships associated with permanent incarceration as reported by 18 older male inmates serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Strong agreement existed between the present sample and previous samples as to the most and least difficult aspects of imprisonment. Consistent with the previous studies, outside problems were perceived as being more severe than inside problems. Overall, this study found agreement in the pains of long-term imprisonment, regardless of the exact length or type of sentence.

Predictors of substance abuse treatment entry for crime-involved, cocaine-dependent women.

A health services utilization model was used to examine predictors of treatment entry among a large sample (N=659) of crime-involved, cocaine-dependent women. Previous research in this area has focused on women already in treatment and resultantly excluded a critical population of drug-dependent women who are actively using but not in treatment. Thus, interviews were completed with women who were participating in substance abuse treatment programs and with women who were not currently in treatment to examine what factors may have inhibited or facilitated their entering treatment. The predisposing characteristics, enabling resources, and service needs of these women were assessed in relation to their treatment utilization status. Findings indicated that variables within each of the three categories of the health services model were related to treatment entry including race/ethnicity and education (predisposing characteristics), and alcohol use and having multiple chronic health problems (need). But, overall, enabling factors, such as being legally employed, having health insurance, having custody of children, and knowing where to go to get treatment, appeared to be the most influential predictors. Implications of this research include employing multiple tactics for increasing the likelihood of treatment entry such as aggressive outreach efforts focusing on at-risk women who have the fewest social ties and who are the least integrated into mainstream society.