Aging Behind Prison Walls Studies in Trauma and Resilience

Although there is a growing body of research on older adults and coping in prison, many inquiries about areas of concern remain unanswered. Specifically, what are the primary traumatic experiences and stressors of the incarceration experience and how do incarcerated older adults, many of whom have served long-term prison sentences, cope with or manage prison life? We analyzed the experiences of 677 incarcerated adults 50 and older and a subsample (n ϭ 201) using a combination of deductive (frequency counts) and inductive (thematic identification) content analysis methods to identify what they reported about trauma, stress, and coping in prison. The primary causes of trauma and stress from our categorization are social (e.g., specifically, lack of contact with and concerns about family; 45%), followed by interpersonal (31%), institutional (29%), and cultural (15%). The majority of participants (54%) identified the use of social coping (e.g., interaction with family or other inmates) followed by cognitive (35%) and spiritual coping (33%) as important strategies to help them manage the prison experience. Our findings suggest that the aging in prison crisis and conditions of confinement are human rights and intergenerational family justice issues that violate older adults in prison, their rights to dignity and respect and their access to political, civil, economic, social and cultural resources. Recommendations are made for humanistic and human rights action strategies, including the allocation of resources for programs that reestablish family and community relationships and training. This may be an important step toward improving the conditions of prison, addressing human rights issues and promoting the overall well-being of those whom we incarcerate; further, it might promote greater acceptance from the communities they hope to reenter. These findings have implications for culturally responsive trauma informed prevention, assessment, and interventions, including advocacy to address human rights violations of alleged abuse and neglect.

Academia Letters, 2021

This article presents correctional practices that effectively reduce recidivism rates and recommends a synthesis of Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy and a modified model of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross' cycle of grief, proven to be cost-effective in the fields of prevention and rehabilitation. When life appears to be unfair and painful, human beings are tempted to drug their pain and grief, self-medicating with drugs and alcohol; divert pain and grief, usually onto those closest to them; or bury their pain and grief with their addiction to work, hobbies, or possessions. The Will to Meaning Dr. Frankl (1997) noted that there tended to be a significant inverse relationship between drug involvement and meaning in one's life. Ninety percent of students in high school and college who were addicted to alcohol and one hundred percent who were addicted to drugs reported that "meaning' was lacking in their lives. They may have purpose, but they do not have meaning. When men and women in prison are offered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, it is generally limited to a 12-step program, the only program generally acceptable to many parole boards, and 12-step programs do not address the lack of meaning in the lives of incarcerated men and women.

Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 2019

The US incarcerates people at a higher rate (698 per 100,000) than any other nation in the world (Walmsley, 2015). While prison may be popularly perceived as primarily a holding place for young people, and in particular young men of color, approximately 42% of the nearly two million people who are currently incarcerated in the US are over the age of 40 (Carson, 2016; Carson & Sabol, 2016). As this group of older prisoners has grown, there has been increased attention to their mental health and well-being (

who have constantly provided the researcher his motivation in life;

The United States' older adult prison population is growing rapidly. This study identifies and describes important psychosocial characteristics, particularly trauma, life-event stressors, health, mental health, and substance abuse, among older adults in prison. Data were collected using case record reviews of 114 prisoners aged 55 or older in the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Findings revealed that the study participants are a diverse group with varied psychosocial issues and needs, including trauma and stress histories, substance use, and health and mental health issues. Most had childhood or adult trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse. Family problems were common in childhood and adulthood. Understanding the problems and needs of older adult prisoners may help improve practice, promote advocacy, and prompt research that can enhance the quality of life of this population.

2019