Attitudes toward elderly inmates in correctional facilities

Abstract

Objective: Psychological well-being and mental health of elderly inmates are investigated by international organization, committees and researchers. One of the main factors that influence their quality of life, daily mood and well-being is interpersonal relationship. Numerous empirical data confirm the importance of interpersonal relationship and attitudes toward aging. An attitude can be defined as an evaluation of a stimulus as reflected in our cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses to the problem (Fiske &Taylor, 1991). In the field of geriatric psychology, research has focused on the problem of interpersonal relationship between elderly people and workers in prison environment. Prison officers are responsible for the safety and security of the prison facility (Bezerra et al., 2016), for supporting offender rehabilitation efforts and for managing organizational demands (Schaufeli & Peeters, 2000). Despite their importance to the running of the prison system, the health and wellbeing of prison officers remains poor. Hypotheses: H0: There isn’t any correlation between the social support inmates have, and their quality of life H1: The more social support correlate the higher level of inmates’ quality of life Methods: The systematic review of research and policy papers, articles that published on interpersonal relationship between elderly inmates and officers in correctional facilities, also effective programs outcomes were conducted. The main symptoms of the problem were measured with special checklist and questionnaires. Results: The elderly inmates experience emotional instability; tendency to self-accusations; anxiety-depressive response; low tolerance for frustration; mistrust and heightened criticism of others; intra and interpersonal conflict. A systematic approach in psychological work with elderly prisoners, also officers allows for the transition from a symptomatic to a personality-oriented level of psychological impact. Psychological emotional support can renew their hope on life, influence positive outcomes of the support program. According to the results of repeated psychological research, the patient's condition was characterized by positive dynamics: the level of psychological distress and the intensity of psychological distress significantly decreased, the general internality of the personality increased, as well as the subjective assessment of personal well-being. Conclusion: It is necessary to focus the attention of specialists on the advisability of using psycho-educational programs in a prison environment, providing information about the aging dynamically. Such programs, used at the initial stages of work with patients, contribute to the creation of motivation for personal psychotherapy and significantly increase its effectiveness.