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

Abstract

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.