THE STUDY SAMPLE INCLUDED 60 MEN REPRESENTATIVE OF 3 STAGES: A RECEPTION GROUP OF NEW PRISONERS; A MIDDLE GROUP OF MEN WHO HAD SERVED APPROXIMATELY 6 YEARS BUT HAD NOT YET BEEN CONSIDERED FOR RELEASE; AND A HARD CORE GROUP OF MEN WHO HAD PASSED THE AVERAGE RELEASE (PAROLE) POINT AND WERE FACING THE POSSIBILITY OF SERVING A VERY LONG TERM. INTERVIEWS AND A BATTERY OF FORMAL TESTS WERE USED TO EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING DIMENSIONS: DEPRESSION; ANXIETY; INTROVERSION; NEUROTICISM AND EMOTIONALITY; APATHY; DEPENDENCE ON STAFF AND ROUTINE; MOTIVATION TO DO ONE'S BEST; SOCIABILITY; INTEREST IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD AND OUTSIDE CONTACTS; CONCERN WITH RELEASE; ORIENTATION IN TIME AND LENGTH OF FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE; AND GENERAL PSYCHIATRIC STATE. DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES ARE DESCRIBED, AND FINDINGS RELATIVE TO EACH DIMENSION ARE SUMMARIZED AND DISCUSSED. THE FINDINGS INDICATE THAT LIFE PRISONERS' INTEREST IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD DOES NOT DIMINISH, THAT INMATES SERVING EVEN VERY LONG TERMS DO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE POSSIBILITY OF RELEASE, AND THAT APATHY DOE NOT INCREASE AS A FUNCTION OF TIME SERVED. FIVE CHANGES OVER AND ABOVE THE EFFECTS OF AGING APPEAR TO BE BROUGHT ON BY TIME SPENT IN PRISON: REDUCTION IN FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE; TENDENCY TO TALK AND THINK ABOUT THE PAST; INCREASING INTROVERSION (LESS INTEREST IN SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AND OUTGOING BEHAVIOR); INCREASING DEPENDENCE ON ROUTINE, EVEN IN PETTY MATTERS: AND DECREASING CONTACT WITH (BUT NOT NECESSARILY INTEREST IN) THE OUTSIDE WORLD. IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED. WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO MAINTAINING THE FAMILY TIES OF PRISONERS.