Abstract
Quality of life is a person-centered concept that is both universal and culturally relevant and includes a variety of domains such as physical, emotional, and interpersonal well-being so that it is also holistic and subjective (Vanleerberghe, De Witte, Claes, Schalock, & Verté, 2017; Charlemagne-Badal, Lee, Butler, & Fraser, 2015). However, the existing literature exploring the relationship between gender and quality of life among incarcerated older adults is limited. There has been some research conducted on non-incarcerated older adults that suggests there may be gender differences in quality of life ratings. Women are more likely to report higher levels of anxiety and describe their emotional health as poor compared to men (Shiovitz-Ezra, Leitsch, Graber, & Karraker, 2009). Women are also more likely to report higher levels of pain and fatigue, as well as worse physical functioning compared to men (Mrus, Williams, Tsevat, Cohn, & Wu, 2005). Using data from a study of patient-caregiver dyads in the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections system (N=52), we tested the hypothesis that there would be gender differences in quality of life among incarcerated older adults. Our findings indicated there is no significant difference in global, physical, or existential quality of life based on gender t(50) = -1.34, p = .185. However, a statistically significant difference was found with women reporting lower psychological quality of life than men F(1, 50) = 5.240, p = .026 and this finding is consistent with the existing literature.