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Incarcerated aging: how older prisoners characterize their needs and adjustment to imprisonment

Thu, September 4, 4:00 to 5:15pm, Communications Building (CN), CN 2114

Abstract

The international literature has revealed important changes in the age-crime curve regarding crime desistance and incarceration, highlighting the need to characterize this phenomenon. Hence, even though people live longer, in some contexts, such as prison, that does not necessarily mean living better or with the necessary conditions. Therefore, the aim of this work is to characterize and present the needs (health, functional, physical, and psychological) of a group of people (n = 485; 98 females), over 55 years of age, involved with the justice system. The accelerated decline associated with lifestyle factors and the prison context itself may contribute negatively to reintegration into society after serving a sentence (and, for example, to an increased risk of recidivism); and despite this age group within Portuguese prisons representing a quarter of the total incarcerated population, their needs remain unknown, and the task of reducing inequalities and promoting an adapted environment is neglected. Targeting vulnerable populations such as older prisoners is critical to promote good health and reduce inequalities in the prison environment with expected positive outcomes after release.

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