An Assessment of Psychological Distress Symptoms and Accessing Mental Health Treatment Among Aging Incarcerated Persons

There has been a "graying" of the prison population during the last several decades. Little research has been done on the psychological distress symptoms and treatment access of the growing older incarcerated population. This study considers how age affects rates of psychological distress symptoms and mental health treatment for incarcerated persons. Data included state respondents from the Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016. Ordinal logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between psychological distress symptoms and aging in prison. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between accessing mental health treatment and aging in prison. Older incarcerated individuals were more likely than younger incarcerated individuals to report feeling symptoms of psychological distress if they were not currently accessing treatment. Older individuals who had accessed treatment in prison were more likely to be currently accessing treatment than younger incarcerated individuals, and the longer one was incarcerated the less likely one was to access treatment. How do we ensure that those who need treatment are getting it? Especially those who have been incarcerated for a long time. Overall, this study shows that older incarcerated persons need continued access to treatment tailored to their unique needs as a group.