**5. Study methods**

This cross-sectional correlational design used a stratified random sample of older (age 50 and above) offenders drawn from a state correctional department's administrative databases. There were 667 participants that completed a self report mail survey that used a modified version of the Life Stressors Checklist-Revised (LSC-R).

#### **5.1 Research design**

This study was conducted in September 2010 in 13 prison facilities across a statewide department of correction (DOC) located in the northeast United States. Of approximately 25,000 prisoners housed in this correctional system in January 2010, approximately 6% (n=1,500) were aged 50 and older. Information to create the sampling frame included the DOC administrative records data for State Bureau of Identification (SBI) number and age. The DOC generated the sampling frame for the study with a list of names, so that invitations and anonymous surveys could be mailed to potential participants and return correspondence could be received.

The final sample size consisted of 667 English-speaking prisoners (aged 50 and older) who responded to the survey, which resulted in a response rate of 43%. This estimate falls within the higher range of expected mail response rates, which are 20-40% for prison populations (Hochstetler et al., 2004). The project was part of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars Program Award, which is funded by the Gerontological Society of America and the John A. Hartford Foundation. The study was approved by the Fordham University Institutional Review Board (IRB) and met the standards for conducting research with a special population of older prisoners and on sensitive topics.
