Gray Matters: Gender Differences in the Physical and Mental Health of Older Inmates

Leigey, Margaret E.; Hodge, Jessica P.

doi:10.1080/08974454.2012.716358

Cited by 28 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The health state of our sample seems to be comparable to other studies (Meyer, 2016) and reviews (Skarupski et al, 2018). However, we could not confirm the gender differences regarding health and affective state as reported in previous studies (Binswanger et al, 2010;Leigley and Hodge, 2012). Only 18% of the participants had no somatic or psychiatric diagnosis.…”

Section: Executive Functioningcontrasting

confidence: 52%

Cognitive dysfunction in older prisoners in Germany: a cross-sectional pilot study

Verhülsdonk

Folkerts

Höft

et al. 2020

IJPH

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to collect the first empirical data on the cognitive state of elderly prisoners in Germany and to examine associations between cognitive function and sociodemographic, clinical and incarceration characteristics. Design/methodology/approach All prisoners aged 60 years and older of five prisons in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, were asked to participate. The cognitive screening instruments mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and the DemTect were used to assess global cognition. Executive functions were tested with the trail making test and the frontal-assessment-battery. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess participants’ affective state. Findings The sample of this study consisted of 58 prisoners with a mean age of 65.52 years (standard deviation = 6.03); 82.8% are male. Using the MMSE with age- and education-corrected z-scores, 36.9% of the prisoners showed marginal or impaired global cognition scores. Using the DemTect, 41.4% of the prisoners were classified as being cognitively impaired. Up to 40% of the prisoners showed deficits in executive functioning and around 60% of the prisoners showed depressive symptoms. The correlation analysis revealed significant associations between cognitive scores and age (rho = –0.335, p = 0.014), education (rho = 0.309, p = 0.020), sentence duration (rho = 0.409, p = 0.007) and duration of current incarceration (rho = 0.302, p = 0.043). The DemTect total score was significantly associated with the PHQ-9 (rho = –0.335, p = 0.016). Practical implications A large group of the prisoners showed a higher prevalence of cognitive dysfunction than that observed in same-age people who are not incarcerated. Taken together, there is an urgent need for an adequate management of older cognitively impaired prisoners including routine cognitive testing and guidelines-oriented treatment of cognitive symptoms. Originality/value This study has several strengths. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study examining the cognitive and affective state in a German prison population. The authors considered female and male prisoners, as well as different prison settings, representing a realistic prison sample. The authors used several neuropsychological instruments to get a more detailed insight into the older prisoners’ cognitive status while trying to consider the economy of time and possible attention deficits to prevent dropouts during testing.

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Section: Executive Functioningcontrasting

confidence: 52%

Cognitive dysfunction in older prisoners in Germany: a cross-sectional pilot study

Verhülsdonk

Folkerts

Höft

et al. 2020

IJPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The number of older female prisoners in the U.S. has grown considerably in the past decade, with more than 15 000 older females under correctional authority (Carson, ). Recent national data indicate that a higher percentage of females age ≥50 have self‐reported lifetime depressive disorder and report a higher average number of “mental health indicators” (e.g., feeling numb or empty inside; racing thoughts) in the past year than men of the same age (Leigey and Hodge, ). In contrast, we found that women prisoners were no more likely than men to experience either current depression or SI.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disability in prison activities of daily living and likelihood of depression and suicidal ideation in older prisoners

Barry

Wakefield

Trestman

et al. 2016

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry

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Identifying older prisoners who have difficulty performing PADLs may help distinguish prisoners who may also be likely to be depressed or experience more severe SI. Furthermore, the association between PADL disability and depression may be particularly salient in older male prisoners. Longitudinal studies are needed as causal inferences are limited by the cross-sectional design. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Twenty-six studies justified their age cut-off choice by stating that these cut-offs were the most frequently or widely used in research on older offenders. These studies also used the specific age cut-off to be consistent with previous research which represented the concept called "frequent/common" (Kerber et al, 2012;Leigey and Hodge, 2012;Leigey and Johnston, 2015;Loeb and Steffensmeier, 2006;Loeb et al, 2008;.…”

Section: Rationales For Choosing Age Cut-offsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Defining an age cut-off for older offenders: a systematic review of literature

Merkt

Haesen

Meyer

et al. 2020

IJPH

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Purpose In the literature, 65 years is commonly used as the age to designate an older person in the community. When studying older prisoners, there is much variation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how researchers define older offenders and for what reasons. Design/methodology/approach The authors reviewed articles on health and well-being of older offenders to assess terminology used to describe this age group, the chosen age cut-offs distinguishing younger offenders from older offenders, the arguments provided to support this choice as well as the empirical base cited in this context. Findings The findings show that the age cut-off of 50 years and the term “older” were most frequently used by researchers in the field. The authors find eight main arguments given to underscore the use of specific age cut-offs delineating older offenders. They outline the reasoning provided for each argument and evaluate it for its use to define older offenders. Originality/value With this review, it is hoped to stimulate the much-needed discussion advancing towards a uniform definition of the older offender. Such a uniform definition would make future research more comparable and ensure that there is no ambiguity when researchers state that the study population is “older offenders”.

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Gray Matters: Gender Differences in the Physical and Mental Health of Older Inmates

Cited by 28 publications

References 19 publications

Cognitive dysfunction in older prisoners in Germany: a cross-sectional pilot study

Cognitive dysfunction in older prisoners in Germany: a cross-sectional pilot study

Disability in prison activities of daily living and likelihood of depression and suicidal ideation in older prisoners

Defining an age cut-off for older offenders: a systematic review of literature

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