Lifetime prevalence of polyvictimization among older adults in Sweden, associations with ill-heath, and the mediating effect of sense of coherence

Abstract

Background Experiences of violence and abuse is a prominent part of the life history of many older adults and is known to have negative health effects. However, the importance of multiple victimization over the life course, e.g., lifetime polyvictimization, is not well investigated in this age group. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of lifetime physical, emotional, and sexual victimization as well as polyvictimization among older adults in Sweden. We explored background characteristics associated with polyvictimization and hypothesized that violence victimization and especially polyvictimization would be associated with lower health status. To better understand factors that promote health in the aftermath of victimization, we also explored the effect of two resilience factors, sense of coherence (SOC) and social support, on the association between victimization and ill-health. Method Cross-sectional data from a random population sample in Sweden (women n = 270, men n = 337) aged 60–85 was used. Respondents answered questions about exposure to violence, health status, social support, and SOC. Conditional process analysis was used to test if SOC mediates the association between victimization and health outcome, and if social support moderates the association. Results Overall, 24.8% of the women and 27.6% of the men reported some form of lifetime victimization and 82.1% of the female and 62.4% of the male victims were classified as polyvictims, i.e., reported experiences of more than one episode of violence. As hypothesized, we found a negative association between victimization and health status and the association was most prominent for polyvictims. We found moderated mediation for the association between polyvictimization and health status, i.e., polyvictimization was associated with lower SOC and SOC had a positive correlation with health status. Social support moderated the association, i.e., victims without social support had lower health scores. Conclusions Lifetime polyvictimization was common among older adults and associated with lower health status. To help victims of violence recover, or preferably never develop ill-health, a better understanding of what fosters resilience is warranted. This study implies that social support, and especially SOC may be factors to consider in future interventions concerning older adults subjected to violence.

Experiences of elder abuse: a qualitative study among victims in Sweden

“…Previous life experiences are important not only for understanding the individual’s unique vulnerability to abuse, but also for considering the victim’s individual strengths and resources when designing interventions and the prevention of elder abuse [ 35 ]. Hence, our results agree well with previous findings that a life-course perspective is essential when trying to understand the causes and consequences of elder abuse [ 6 – 8 ]. However, our findings also underline that abuse occurs in a context, and factors on all levels of the socioecological model influence the experience of abuse, e.g., ageist attitudes and dysfunctional care organizations described further on.…”

“…Elder abuse is associated with various adverse health outcomes including psychosocial distress, morbidity, and mortality [ 1 ]. Exposure to more than one type of abuse or by more than one perpetrator is called poly-victimization, and this common condition is generally associated with even worse health outcomes than single exposure to abuse [ 5 , 6 ]. It is also increasingly acknowledged that elder abuse is associated with previous experiences of violence in childhood and adulthood, motivating a life-course perspective in research on elder abuse [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Validation of the factor structure and psychometric characteristics of the Arabic adaptation of the sense of coherence SOC-13 scale: a confirmatory factor analysis

“…Stronger sense of coherence meant better physical and mental health and more use of mature defence mechanisms [ 4 ]. Strong sense of coherence has a role in mediating recovery from substantial stressors such as poly-victimization [ 5 ].…”

Elder Mistreatment as a Risk Factor for Depression and Suicidal Ideation in Korean Older Adults

“…However, to date, most studies have typically focused on the effects of exposure on single-type elder mistreatment, and multi-type mistreatment has received little attention in the literature. The few available studies found that multi-type mistreatment has a much higher risk of adverse physical and mental health consequences [ 12 , 20 ]. In a study by Simmons and Swahnberg [ 20 ], experiencing multi-type elder mistreatment was associated with adverse physical and mental health, while single-type mistreatment was not.…”

“…Most of this substantial knowledge mainly focuses on single types of elder mistreatment. While there is some evidence that exposures to multi-type elder mistreatment may be associated with an even higher increased risk of adverse mental health consequences, the area remains substantially understudied [ 12 , 19 , 20 ]. Furthermore, there is very limited research that is focusing on the impact of single- and multi-type mistreatment on mental health in the Korean older population [ 21 ].…”