Prior Incarceration and Performance on Immediate and Delayed Verbal Recall Tests: Results from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health – Parent Study

Citation

Testa, Alexander; Jackson, Dylan B; Novisky, Meghan; Ganson, Kyle T; Nagata, Jason M; & Tsai, Jack (2024). Prior Incarceration and Performance on Immediate and Delayed Verbal Recall Tests: Results from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health – Parent Study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the cognitive functioning of formerly incarcerated older adults compared to their never-incarcerated counterparts, focusing on immediate and delayed verbal recall. Methods: Data are from 2,003 respondents who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health – Parent Study (AHPS) (ages 47-82; mean age 62). AHPS participants were administered word recall memory exercises to the parent respondent from the Rey Auditory-Verbal administered Learning Test, including (a) 90-second (immediate or short-term verbal memory), (b) 60-second recall tests (delayed or long-term verbal memory), and (c) combined word recall on the 90- and 60-second tests. Results: Adjusting for control variables, respondents who reported prior incarceration had a lower rate of verbal recall on the combined word recall (Incidence risk ratio [IRR] = .915, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = .840, .997) and immediate word recall (IRR = .902, 95% CI = .817, .996). When restricting the sample to respondents over age 60, prior incarceration was associated with lower combined word recall (IRR = .847, 95% CI = .752, .954), immediate word recall (IRR = .857, 95% CI = .762, .963), and delayed word recall (IRR = .834, 95% CI = .713, .974).
Discussion: This study underscores the adverse impact of prior incarceration on cognitive functioning in the older adult population, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and support for formerly incarcerated older adults. The results reinforce the importance of addressing the long-term consequences of incarceration, especially as individuals enter older adulthood.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae040

Keyword(s)

Incarceration

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B

Author(s)

Testa, Alexander
Jackson, Dylan B
Novisky, Meghan
Ganson, Kyle T
Nagata, Jason M
Tsai, Jack

Year Published

2024

Edition

March 22, 2024

ISSN/ISBN

1758-5368

DOI

10.1093/geronb/gbae040

Reference ID

10361