‘Breaking the silence’: Sexual victimisation in an old age psychiatry patient population in Flanders

Nobels, Anne; Keygnaert, Inês; Robert, Egon; Vandeviver, Christophe; Haekens, An; Lemey, Lieve; Strobbe, Marieke; Noortgate, Nele Van Den; Lemmens, Gilbert

doi:10.1002/gps.5565

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(94 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Recent research has shown that 60% of older SV victims never disclosed their experiences to their informal network, and 94% never sought professional help [ 50 ]. Similar to younger victims [ 51 ], older SV victims experience many barriers to disclose SV experiences or seek professional help [ 20 , 50 ]. We hypothesize that social support is only beneficial for long-term mental health outcomes following sexual victimisation when the confidants are aware of the victim’s SV history.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, identifying as non-heterosexual has been associated specifically with SV in older adults and has also been linked to mental health problems in older age [ 4 , 19 ]. Additionally, a recent study showed that sexual victimisation remains largely undetected by mental health care workers [ 20 ]. Although the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) petitioned a routine inquiry on SV in all psychiatric assessments [ 21 ], health care workers lack the appropriate communication skills to adequately address SV in later life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

“Time Does Not Heal All Wounds”: Sexual Victimisation Is Associated with Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD in Old Age

Nobels

Lemmens

Thibau

et al. 2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sexual violence (SV) has an important impact on mental health. Childhood sexual abuse is linked to internalising disorders in later life. In older adults, SV occurs more often than previously believed. Moreover, health care workers lack the skills to address SV in later life. Studies researching the mental health impact of lifetime SV, i.e., SV during childhood, adulthood, and old age, are lacking. Between July 2019 and March 2020, 513 older adults living in Belgium participated in structured face-to-face-interviews. Selection occurred via a cluster random probability sampling with a random walk finding approach. Depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) were measured using validated scales. Participants were asked about suicide attempts and self-harm during their lifetime and in the past 12 months. SV was measured using behaviourally specific questions based on a broad SV definition. We found rates for depression, anxiety, and PTSD of 27%, 26%, and 6% respectively, while 2% had attempted suicide, and 1% reported self-harm in the past 12 months. Over 44% experienced lifetime SV and 8% in the past 12 months. Lifetime SV was linked to depression (p = 0.001), anxiety (p = 0.001), and PTSD in participants with a chronic illness/disability (p = 0.002) or no/lower education (p < 0.001). We found no link between lifetime SV and suicide attempts or self-harm in the past 12 months. In conclusion, lifetime SV is linked to mental health problems in late life. Tailored mental health care for older SV victims is necessary. Therefore, capacity building of professionals and development of clinical guidelines and care procedures are important.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Time Does Not Heal All Wounds”: Sexual Victimisation Is Associated with Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD in Old Age

Nobels

Lemmens

Thibau

et al. 2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We assume this could be explained by SV disclosure. Research in younger populations showed that SV victims experience many barriers to disclosure (Dartnall & Jewkes, 2013), which was recently confirmed in a sample of older adults with mental health problems (Nobels et al, 2021b). We hypothesize that social support is only beneficial when the confidants are aware of the victim's SV history.…”

Section: Lifetime Sexual Victimisation Is Linked With Depression Anxiety and Ptsd In Older Adultsmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Additionally, a recent study showed that sexual victimisation remains largely undetected by mental health care workers (Nobels et al, 2021b). Although the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) petitioned a routine inquiry on SV in all psychiatric assessments (Steward & Chandra, 2017), health care workers lack the appropriate communication skills to adequately address SV in later life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Time does not heal all wounds”: Sexual victimisation is associated with depression, anxiety and PTSD in old age

Nobels

Lemmens

Thibau

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Sexual violence (SV) has an important impact on mental health. Childhood sexual abuse is linked to internalising disorders in later life. In older adults, SV occurs more often than previously believed. Moreover, health care workers lack the skills to address SV in later life. Studies researching the mental health impact of lifetime SV, i.e. SV during childhood, adulthood and old age, are lacking. Methods Between July 2019 and March 2020, 513 older adults living in Belgium participated in structured face-to-face-interviews. Selection occurred via a cluster random probability sampling with a random walk finding approach. Depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) were measured using validated scales. Participants were asked about suicide attempts and self-harm during their lifetime and in the past 12-months. SV was measured using behaviourally specific questions based on a broad SV definition. Results Rates for depression, anxiety and PTSD were 27%, 26% and 6% respectively, 2% had attempted suicide, 1% reported self-harm in the past 12-months. Over 44% experienced lifetime SV, 8% in the past 12-months. Lifetime SV was linked to depression (p =.001), anxiety (p =.001), and PTSD in participants with a chronic illness/disability (p = .002) or no/lower education (p <.001). We found no link between lifetime SV and suicide attempts or self-harm in the past 12-months. Conclusions Lifetime SV is linked to mental health problems in late life. Tailored mental health care for older SV victims is necessary. Therefore, capacity building of professionals, and development of clinical guidelines and care procedures are important.

show abstract

“…Earlier studies have shown a clear link between socio-economic status and poverty with SV. SV can jeopardize a person’s economic wellbeing, potentially leading to homelessness [ 98 , 99 ], unemployment, interrupted education and health, mental health [ 8 , 64 , 98 , 100 , 101 ], and other daily stressors and struggles which impact one’s socio-economic status. In turn, not being able to meet one’s basic needs can increase a person’s vulnerability to sexual victimization [ 101 , 102 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minority Identity, Othering-Based Stress, and Sexual Violence

Schrijver

Fomenko

Krahé

et al. 2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Some (minority) groups (MGs) are more vulnerable to sexual violence (SV) exposure than others. Othering-based stress (OBS) may mediate the relationship between minority identification and SV. This study aims to assess the prevalence of SV in different MGs to explore the relationship between minority identification and SV, to investigate whether belonging to multiple MGs moderates this relationship, and to explore OBS SV moderation for different MGs. Method: Through an online survey administered to a nationally representative sample in Belgium, data was collected from 4632 persons, of whom 21.01% self-identified as belonging to a MG (SI-Minority). SV prevalence was measured using behaviorally specific questions based on the WHO definition of SV. SI-Minority participants received an additional scale on OBS. Results: SI-Minority participants reported more SV victimization compared to the non-minorities. However, this increased risk was not moderated by minority identification but linked to the socio-demographic SV risk markers common to minority individuals. Multiple-minority participants were found more at risk of SV compared to single-minority respondents. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, pan-/omnisexual, asexual, and other non-heterosexual (LGB+) participants were found more at risk than heterosexual participants. OBS was found to be significantly correlated to SV in sexual and gender minorities and in cultural minorities. Conclusions: This study contributes to our understanding of the relationship between minority identification, OBS, and SV. Studying both specific and common SV vulnerabilities and outcomes within specific societal subgroups and the general population may inform policy makers when allocating resources to those interventions with the largest societal impact.

show abstract

‘Breaking the silence’: Sexual victimisation in an old age psychiatry patient population in Flanders

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

“Time Does Not Heal All Wounds”: Sexual Victimisation Is Associated with Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD in Old Age

“Time Does Not Heal All Wounds”: Sexual Victimisation Is Associated with Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD in Old Age

“Time does not heal all wounds”: Sexual victimisation is associated with depression, anxiety and PTSD in old age

Minority Identity, Othering-Based Stress, and Sexual Violence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About