Lifetime abuse and somatic symptoms among older women and men in Europe

Abstract

Background Research suggests that survivors of interpersonal violence have an increasing experience of bodily symptoms. This study aims to scrutinise the association between lifetime abuse and somatic symptoms among older women and men, considering demographics/socio-economic, social support and health variables. Methods A sample of 4,467 community-dwelling persons aged 60–84 years (57.3% women) living in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Sweden) was recruited for this cross-sectional study. Lifetime abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial and injury) was assessed on the basis of the UK study of elder abuse and the Conflict Tactics Scale-2, while somatic symptoms were assessed by the Giessen Complaint List short version. Results Women reported somatic symptoms more frequently than men. Multiple regression analyses revealed that lifetime exposure to psychological abuse was associated with higher levels of somatic symptoms among both women and men, while experiencing lifetime sexual abuse was associated with somatic symptoms only among older women, after adjusting for other demographic and socio-economic variables. Country of residence, older age, and low socio-economic status were other independent factors contributing to a higher level of somatic symptoms. Conclusions The positive association between the experience of abuse during lifetime and the reporting of higher levels of somatic symptoms, in particular among older women, seems to suggest that such complaints in later life might also be related to the experience of mistreatment and not only to ageing and related diseases. Violence prevention throughout lifetime could help to prevent somatic symptoms in later life.

Elder abuse and associated factors in eastern romania

“…It is also important to distinguish health consequences of elder abuse from natural processes related to ageing and diseases. 31 There are different types of comorbidities in both groups. They have a higher rate of peripheral artery disease (34.9%), stroke or TIA (11.3%), as well as of degenerative neuromuscular diseases (30.1%).…”

“…Lifetime abuse could result in somatic symptoms in old age, independent of a particular disease. It is also important to distinguish health consequences of elder abuse from natural processes related to ageing and diseases . There are different types of comorbidities in both groups.…”

Why We Need a Developmentally Appropriate Trauma Diagnosis for Children: a 10-Year Update on Developmental Trauma Disorder

“…Somatic dysregulation (i.e., impairment in or pain related to basic bodily functions) was included in this domain based on to evidence that children may express emotional distress indirectly through somatic complaints and somatoform symptoms (Agnafors et al, 2019;Flaherty , 2013;Ford et al, 2013b;Vernberg et al, 2011). In addition, adults (Eslami et al, 2019;Littleton, 2015;Paras et al, 2009) and adolescents (Bonvanie et al, 2015;Espejo-Siles et al, 2020;Nixon et al, 2011;Rey et al, 2020) with a history of childhood sexual abuse or peer victimization are at risk for stress-related somatic complaints and bodily problems (i.e., functional gastrointestinal disorders, chronic nonspecific and pelvic pain, psychogenic seizures). Dissociation, which may occur either as psychological (e.g., depersonalization, derealization, alter personality states) or somatoform (e.g., unexplained paralysis or sensory experiences) symptoms, also was included in the DTD affect/somatic dysregulation domain, based on evidence that severe emotion dysregulation (e.g., alexithymia; impaired modulation of and recovery from extreme negative emotion states) is related to pathological dissociation in childhood (Hebert et al, 2020) and adulthood (Ford & Gomez, 2015;Powers et al, 2015;Van Dijke et al, 2010).…”

Psychopathology and Somatic Complaints: A Cross-Sectional Study with Portuguese Adults

“…An explanation for the opposite directions of the studies may be related to the cultural and social characteristics. A study that included seven European countries found that the perception of health differs among countries and that geographic location was positively associated with somatic symptoms, with coming from Lithuania and Portugal being among the risk factors for the development of symptoms [ 23 ]. “Thus, somatic presentations can be viewed as expressions of personal suffering inserted in a cultural and social context” [ 24 ] (p. 310).…”

“…This study was aimed to examine the relationship between health conditions (which included health perception, mental health, and physical and social functioning), psychopathological symptoms, sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., gender, age, and educational level), and FSS. According to our observations as professionals working in health services in Portugal, in addition to the findings of studies that have shown the relationship between FSS and this set of factors [ 8 , 13 , 14 , 23 , 25 ], we hypothesized that individuals with FSS would be mostly female, with a lower educational level and older age. We also hypothesized that the severity of FSS would be associated with the presence of psychopathological symptoms, as well as FSS would be negatively correlated with health conditions.…”