McLennan Stuart, Meyer Leila, Wangmo Tenzin, Gaab Jens, Elger Bernice, Seaward Helene
Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland.
Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Department of Preclinical Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 27;25(1):328. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21452-w.
Imprisonment has a major impact on a person's psychological well-being. The proportion of older imprisoned persons is dramatically increasing worldwide, and they are likely to have greater physical and mental health needs compared to younger persons in prisons. However, there is currently a lack of research on the psychological stressors and the coping strategies of older imprisoned persons. This study therefore aims to explore the key psychological stressors experienced by older imprisoned persons and their coping strategies.
Individual semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted between April 2017 and December 2018 with a purposive sample of 79 participants from 2 different groups in Switzerland: older imprisoned persons (n = 50) and mental health professionals (n = 29) with experience working in prisons. Transcripts were analysed using conventional content analysis.
This study has identified various ways in which the prison environment not only undermines older incarcerated persons´ psychological well-being, but also their ability to manage the stress they are experiencing. Two overarching psychological stressors identified were a lack of physical and emotional closeness in social relationships (with prison staff, with other incarcerated persons, and outside of prison), and the loss of autonomy in prison. Participants reported five main ways that older incarcerated persons coped with the psychological stressors in prison: 1) recognising a lack of control over situation, 2) withdrawing and isolating, 3) self-improvement, 4) staying connected to the outside world, and 5) self-expression.
To improve the psychological well-being of older incarcerated persons, there is a need for: specialised training of prison staff regarding hardships that elderly persons can face in prison relationships, encouragement and enablement of social contacts with the outside world, and increasing possibilities for autonomy, new challenges, and thus stimuli within a limited setting.
监禁对人的心理健康有重大影响。在全球范围内，老年在押人员的比例正在急剧增加，与监狱中的年轻人相比，他们可能有更大的身心健康需求。然而，目前缺乏关于老年在押人员心理压力源和应对策略的研究。因此，本研究旨在探讨老年在押人员所经历的关键心理压力源及其应对策略。
2017年4月至2018年12月期间，对瑞士两个不同群体的79名参与者进行了个体半结构式定性访谈：老年在押人员（n = 50）和有监狱工作经验的心理健康专业人员（n = 29）。使用常规内容分析法对访谈记录进行分析。
本研究确定了监狱环境不仅损害老年在押人员心理健康，还损害其应对所经历压力能力的各种方式。确定的两个主要心理压力源是社会关系中缺乏身体和情感上的亲近（与监狱工作人员、其他在押人员以及监狱外的人），以及在监狱中失去自主权。参与者报告了老年在押人员应对监狱心理压力源的五种主要方式：1）认识到对情况缺乏控制，2）退缩和孤立，3）自我提升，4）与外界保持联系，5）自我表达。
为了改善老年在押人员的心理健康，需要：对监狱工作人员进行关于老年人在监狱关系中可能面临的困难的专门培训，鼓励并促成与外界的社会联系，并在有限的环境中增加自主权、新挑战以及相应刺激的可能性。
