Estudo exploratório do otimismo em idosos: contexto de cárcere e em liberdade

Abstract

The elderly has been the subject of investigations, mainly as regards their biopsychosocial health condition; however, there is a scarcity of studies addressing the elderly individuals who are deprived of their liberty. Investigating optimism in elderly inmates within the penitentiary system is crucial, given the significant growth of this population and the exponential increase in life expectancy in Brazil and worldwide. In addition, the elderly requires an adapted context to meet their structural needs. This study aimed to investigate optimism in incarcerated elderly individuals (IPL) within the prison system in Macapá-AP. Furthermore, describes sociodemographic aspects and compares optimism between groups of incarcerated and non- incarcerated elderly (INPL). The research design adopted was cross-sectional and correlational, using a quantitative data approach. The study took place within the Penitentiary System of Macapá-AP city and involved 30 participants, of which 15 were elderly inmates, and the other 15, the non-private of liberty, all of them living in the community. The sample selection criteria included: a) elderly inmates in Macapá-AP, sentenced to closed, semi-open, or provisional regimes awaiting trial; b) elderly non-inmates residing in Macapá-AP; c) all participants above 60 years old. The following instruments were used: a) a questionnaire characterizing participants with personal, sociodemographic, and prison-related information; a) Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to detect cognitive deficits; c) a Brazilian version of the Life Orientation Revised (LOT-R) to assess optimism in Brazilian adults; d) Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). The main results were as follows: 1) the majority of INPL participants were in a stable marital situation (married), which significantly differed from IPL participants who exhibited diverse marital statuses; 2) the MEEM indicated few differences between the groups, confirming preserved cognition in all participants. The LOT-R revealed that IPL had higher optimistic expectations and a lower percentage of pessimistic responses. In contrast, INPL, although having similar data regarding optimistic expectations, showed a reasonable difference with a higher pessimism index. It is concluded that the lack of relevant content on optimism in incarcerated elderly justifies the need for more research to improve the prison structure. Despite the limitations of the sample due to the pandemic, elderly inmates demonstrated less pessimism compared to elderly individuals in freedom. This pioneering work, in the state of Amapá, sought to contribute to understanding the elderly in the prison system and highlight the importance of improving the penitentiary system. The study also proposes directions for future research and the use of data to produce materials essential for working with this population.