OBJECTIVE: To understand the meaning of aging for elderly prisoners. METHODS: A descriptive study with qualitative approach conducted between July and December 2011with elderly inmates in the prison system of Paraiba state. The sample was terminated with the help of the saturation technique of information in 11 subjects. For data collection a socio-demographic form and a semi-structured interview was used. It was carried out the discourse analysis from the viewpoint of Content Analysis. RESULTS: There was a predominance in the elderly age group between 60 to 65 years old, married, with an average of six children, Catholics, possessing some kind of income, literacy, with an average of three years confinement and regularity in receiving visits. After analyzing the discourse, categories were conformed. Meaning of aging for seniors and elderly being incarcerated. CONCLUSIONS: The meaning of aging for incarcerated elderly relates to feelings of melancholy, anxiety and constant losses, as well as the impossibility of any type of development. The difficulty to perform labor activity, the decrease from family life and intergenerational conflicts corroborate the loss of quality of life for seniors in jail. The negative meanings regarding aging in this study are similar to those of freed elderly, but are highlighted and sometimes enhanced by incarceration.
Aging; Elderly; Prisons; Prisoners