Alexandra DePalma, Deborah Noujaim, Emil Coman, Dorothy Wakefield and Lisa C. Barry
Older incarcerated persons are an especially vulnerable segment of the prison population, with high rates of multimorbidity. This study aims to determine the impact of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Older incarcerated persons are an especially vulnerable segment of the prison population, with high rates of multimorbidity. This study aims to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older incarcerated persons’ mental and physical health.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants were 157 currently-incarcerated persons age ≥50 years who were enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal study before the pandemic. Anxiety symptoms (seven-item generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire), depressive symptoms (eight-item patient health questionnaire) and self-rated health (SRH) were assessed during in-person interviews completed before the pandemic and via mailed surveys during the pandemic (August–September 2020). A mediation model evaluated the relationship among anxiety, depression and SRH.
Findings
Participants were 96% male, racially diverse (41% White, 41% Black, 18% Hispanic/Other), with average age 56.0(±5.8) years. From before to during the pandemic, anxiety symptoms increased (worsened) (from 6.4 ± 5.7 to 7.8 ± 6.6; p < 0.001), depressive symptoms increased (worsened) (from 5.5 ± 6.0 to 8.1 ± 6.5; p < 0.001) and SRH decreased (worsened) (from 3.0 ± 0.2 to 2.6 ± 0.2; p < 0.001). The total effect of worsening anxiety symptoms on worsening SRH (−0.043; p < 0.001) occurs entirely because of worsening depressive symptoms, i.e. the direct effect was statistically non-significant −0.030 (p = 0.068).
Practical implications
Older incarcerated persons experienced worsening mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic which was associated with worsening SRH. These findings have implications for health-care costs and services needed to care for this vulnerable group.
Originality/value
This is the first study to evaluate change in older incarcerated persons’ mental health from before the COVID-19 pandemic to during the pandemic.
Details
Keywords
This study sought to explore the understanding and experiences of hazing of seven Black men, 18–25 years of age, who attended all-boys ex-Model C schools in South Africa to…
Abstract
This study sought to explore the understanding and experiences of hazing of seven Black men, 18–25 years of age, who attended all-boys ex-Model C schools in South Africa to describe what it might reveal about masculinities and cultural heteronormativity. This study aims to understand the institutional culture of boys' high schools including sport and the factors that inform, produce and reproduce heteronormative culture. This study used a retrospective ethnographic method of inquiry to explore participants' memories of their experiences and perceptions about the initiation/hazing they were subjected to during their school years. As points of entry into the extensive and broad theoretical discussions, I discuss hazing in sports, institutional culture and heteronormative ideals that have shaped the narratives around hazing in boys' schools, as well as the racial issues that exist within these structures. This illustrates how the issue of hazing is a systematic one that relies heavily on the reproduction of a system based on values and ideals that continue to be perpetuated and are reflected here.