Intimate Partner Violence in Persons With Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Recent studies have reported that older adults with cognitive or physical disabilities are at risk to suffer intimate partner violence. This article investigates the intimate partner violence among caregivers and persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD). We used qualitative methods to investigate whether the presence of violence was related to the type of couple relationship before the disease onset. We used a survey, in-depth interviews, and focus groups in 20 dyads of caregivers and patients. Twelve (60%) persons with PD and nine (45%) caregivers reported receiving violence. Considering their relationships previous to disease onset, we describe three typologies of violence in PD: (a) disease and history of violence, (b) disease as a buffer of violence, and (c) the burden of disease as an inductor of violence. Previous relationships and the couple’s biographical trajectories influence the types of violence and its nature. This study is relevant as it considers time as a crucial factor in both the violence and suffering of PD and its caregiving.

Prevalence and Cumulative Incidence of Caregiver-Reported Aggression in Advanced Parkinson Disease and Related Disorders

“…This is especially relevant to our observations on mood disturbances, which could be causative or a direct consequence of experiencing aggression. Finally, although we used methods employed in previous studies, 10,11 the psychometric properties of our 2-item questionnaire remain undefined. Studies that examine the operationalization of this method are needed to examine potential barriers to accurate reporting by caregivers.…”

“…Another estimated a wide range of prevalence for physical violence within PD patient-caregiver relationships, with violence observed in 44%-72% of dyads. 11 Despite these reports, there remains a dearth of descriptive studies that estimate the prevalence or incidence of aggression in PDRD.…”