Standardized outcome measures of mental health in research with older adults who are incarcerated

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0085
• Published date: 05 April 2022
• Date: 05 April 2022
• Pages: 200-212
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Prisoner health,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice
• Author: Stephanie Grace Prost,Cynthia Golembeski,Vyjeyanthi S. Periyakoil,Jalayne Arias,Andrea K. Knittel,Jessica Ballin,Heather D. Oliver,Nguyen-Toan Tran

Standardized outcome measures of

mental health in research with older

adults who are incarcerated

Stephanie Grace Prost, Cynthia Golembeski, Vyjeyanthi S. Periyakoil, Jalayne Arias,

Andrea K. Knittel, Jessica Ballin, Heather D. Oliver and Nguyen-Toan Tran

Abstract

Purpose –The targeted use of standardized outcome measures (SOMs) of mental health in research

with older adults who are incarcerated promotes a common language that enables interdisciplinary

dialogue,contributes to the identification of disparitiesand supports data harmonization and subsequent

synthesis. This paper aims to provide researchers with rationale for using ‘‘gold-standard’’ measures

used in researchwith community-dwelling older adults,reporting associated study sample psychometric

indexes,and detailing alterations in the approachor measure.

Design/methodology/approach –The authors highlight the mental health of older adults who are

incarcerated. They also discuss the benefits of SOMs in practice and research and then identify gold-

standard measures of mental health used in research with community-dwelling older adults and

measures used in research with older adults who are incarcerated. Finally, the authorsprovide several

recommendationsrelated to the use of SOMs of mental health in researchwith this population.

Findings –Depression,anxiety and post-traumatic stressdisorder are common among older adultswho

are incarcerated.Researchers have used a variety of measuresto capture these mental health problems,

some parallelto those used with community-dwelling samples.However, a more targeted use of SOMs of

mentalhealth in research with this population willcontribute to important strides in this burgeoningfield.

Originality/value –This review offers several practical recommendations related to SOMs of mental

health in research witholder adults who are incarcerated to contribute to a rigorous evidence base and

thus informpractice and potentially improve thehealth and well-being of this population.

Keywords Older adults, Mental health, Measurement, Standardized measures, Outcomes,

Incarceration

Paper type General review

Driven in part by longer and determinate sentencing structures and parole

restrictions, older adults incarcerated in prisons comprise the fastest-growing age

demographic within US carceral settings. While COVID-19 has contributed to the

release of many older adults (Finkle, 2021), the percentage of persons aged 55 and older

sentenced under the jurisdiction of state or federal prisons increased 285% between 1999

and 2019 (Carson,2000, 2020). The imprisonment rate of this same age group in parallel

jurisdictions also increasedby 342% during the same period (Carson,2000, 2020).

Scholars have documented increased physical, mental and behavioralhealth comorbidities

among older adults who are incarcerated when compared to their community-dwelling

counterparts (Di Lorito et al.,2018;Fazel et al., 2001b;Skarupski et al.,2018). As a result of

the elevated mental health burden among this population, specifically, researchers are

called to increase knowledge surrounding the causes, correlates and consequences of

mental health problems among older adults who are incarcerated both during and beyond

(Informationabout the

authorscan be found at the

end of this article.)

Received 20 August 2021

Revised 17 February 2022

7 March 2022

Accepted 8 March 2022

This work was in part supported

by National Institute on Aging

Grant # R24AG065175;

Advancing Health Disparities

Research in Aging: The Aging

Research in Criminal Justice &

Health (ARCH) Network. The

content is solely the

responsibility of the authors

and does not necessarily

represent the official views of

the National Institutes of Health.

PAGE 200 jINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRISONER HEALTH jVOL. 18 NO. 2 2022, pp. 200-212, ©EmeraldPublishing Limited, ISSN 1744-9200 DOI 10.1108/IJPH-08-2021-0085