Fear of crime and psychological and physical abuse associated with ill health in a Swedish population aged 65–84 years

Abstract

ObjectivesThe objective of the paper was to assess the association between experiencing fear of crime and/or psychological and/or physical abuse in relation to self-reported physical and psychological health, using a large representative sample of elderly women and men in Sweden. Study designCross-sectional national survey MethodsData were taken from a nationwide representative public health survey (2006). Men and women between the ages of 65 and 84 were selected for the analyses in the study, which comprised 4,386 men and 4,974 women. The response rate for this age group was 59% for men and 70% for women. ResultsPsychological and physical abuse against elderly women and men produced raised odd ratios for negative health outcomes, independently of socio-economic status. Strong correlation between psychological abuse and negative health outcomes was found in both men and women, while physical abuse showed less significantly raised odds ratios, especially among women. The men in particular had high odds ratios for suicidal thoughts and even for attempted suicide in connection with physical and psychological abuse and fear of crime. ConclusionsThe study provides representative results addressing an extensive negative health outcome panorama caused by fear of crime and exposure to abuse.

Experiences of violence across life course and its effects on mobility among participants in the International Mobility in Aging Study

“…The detrimental impact of violence during adulthood on a variety of health conditions,4 10 11 13 23 39 and the positive correlations between good mobility and health are established16 17 40 and consistent with findings of this study. However, to the best of our knowledge, only one study examined associations between childhood adversities (including physical abuse) and mobility disability24 and there exists no study exploring possible pathways linking life course violence and mobility disability.…”

“…9 The association between DV and poor general health, musculoskeletal pain, headache, stomach problems, allergy, anxiety, sleeping problems, stress and suicidal thoughts has also been well documented. [10][11][12][13] Mobility, defined as the ability to move oneself independently or by using assistive devices or transportation within environments, 14 is a major predictor of morbidity and mortality in older adults. 15 16 The…”

Association between elder abuse and poor sleep: A cross-sectional study among rural older Malaysians

“…These include premature mortality [6, 7], depression [8], increased utilization of health services [9, 10], metabolic syndrome [11], musculoskeletal pain, suicidal ideation, anxiety, incontinence and gastro-intestinal symptoms [12]. Nevertheless, many health-related outcomes of EAN remain unexplored.…”

Prevalence and Predictors of elder abuse in Mafikeng Local Municipality in South Africa

“…Conversely, self-perception of poor health could also be an indication that elderly people are being abused or are in fear of being abused or becoming victims of crime, which is consistent with the high rate of crime in South Africa, which impedes the mobility and participation of the elderly in ordinary life activities leading to psychological problems such as stress and depression. A previous study found that old people who have been physically and emotionally abused are more likely to be physically ill and emotionally impaired than non-abused people (Olofsson et al 2012).…”