Ageing in the Carceral Environment: The Existential Dimensions

Introduction

The worldwide increase in the number of individuals that are ageing behind bars sparks heightened concerns about the extent to which carceral environments can foster the foundational conditions for ageing individuals to lead meaningful lives.

Research Gap

However, the underdevelopment of research on carceral ageing is one of the most significant contemporary challenges in the social scientific study of criminal behaviour and society’s response to it. Scholarship is particularly lagging behind in Europe.

Project Overview

The CAGED project addresses this critical need by understanding how existential psychosocial changes induced by human ageing intersect with the effects of incarceration. It is designed to bridge two distinct academic realms:

1. Gerontology - the multidisciplinary study of ageing.
2. Penology - the study of punishment and incarceration.

Methodological Approach

The project will push disciplinary boundaries, both methodologically and theoretically, by applying an interactive mixed-methods and interdisciplinary approach that is guided by three objectives:

1. Existential Dimensions: It will delve into the existential dimensions woven into the narratives of incarcerated ageing individuals by employing multi and novel interviewing methods.

2. Measurement Instrument: The project will develop a novel instrument for measuring existential meaning among diverse regimes and groups of ageing individuals. The measurement will encompass all carceral environments in Belgium.

3. Case Study: Renowned for its diverse approaches to the integration and segregation of older individuals in carceral settings, Belgium makes an excellent case study with broad relevance across European jurisdictions. The measuring study will also extend to an age-segregated facility for older adults in Germany, which is unique in Europe.

Conclusion

In bringing these insights together, the project will finally culminate in a ground-breaking interdisciplinary theoretical framework. In its pursuit, CAGED will propel the field of carceral ageing studies forward and launch a new field of geronto-penology.