Search results for ‘Subject term:"older people"’ Sort:
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Comparisons of sexual assault among older and younger women
- Authors:
- del BOVE Giannetta, STERMAC Lana, BAINBRIDGE Deidre
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 17(3), 2005, pp.1-18.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This Canadian study examined the nature and extent of coercion, violence, and physical injury among older victims of sexual assaults (55 years and older) and compared these with the sexual assault victims of mid-age (31-54 years) and younger women (15-30 years). The results of this investigation reveal that older victims of sexual assault are more likely to be living alone at the time of the attack. In addition, older victims of sexual assault tended to report higher rates of vulnerabilities such as psychiatric and cognitive disabilities than did younger female victims. In contrast to younger victims, elder sexual assault victims are also more likely to be assaulted in their own home and one-quarter of older victims require ambulance involvement. Although the use of weapons was most likely in the sexual assaults of younger women, the use of physical violence and restraint was common and equally likely among all three groups. Similarly, vaginal penetration and the presence of physical trauma were just as likely in elder victims as in younger victims of sexual assault. These results reveal new information about the nature and extent of violence and coercion in elder female sexual assaults. The vulnerability of the older victims illustrated in this investigation raises a number of research questions about these women's prior history of victimization and future safety. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Internal barriers to help seeking for middle-aged and older women who experience intimate partner violence
- Authors:
- BEAULAURIER Richard L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 17(3), 2005, pp.53-74.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
There has been relatively little qualitatively or quantitatively published research to guide the field in identifying and addressing barriers to seeking help for older women who experience domestic violence. Women over the age of 45 have seldom been participants in research on domestic violence. This paper describes results from a qualitative study that focused on reactions to and internalization of abusive behaviours of an intimate partner. Twenty-one focus groups were conducted with 134 middle aged and older women in Florida, USA. Analysis of the data identified six factors that describe reactions to abusive behaviour that become barriers to help seeking, including self-blame, powerlessness, hopelessness, the need to protect family, and the need to keep such abuse secret from others. These findings are discussed with implications for community outreach and future research. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Families, violence and social change
- Author:
- MCKIE Linda
- Publisher:
- Open University
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 178p.
- Place of publication:
- Maidenhead
The gendered nature of much violence continues to be ignored in so far as the relationship between masculinities, families and violence are rarely interrogated. This book looks at domestic violence, considering gender, older women and social and economic changes.
Older women's experiences of psychological violence in their marital relationships
- Author:
- MONTMINY Lyse
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 46(2), 2005, pp.3-21.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Violence within older couples is a reality, not a myth. In this study, qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 women ages 60 to 81 who had suffered marital psychological violence. Husbands' psychologically violent behaviours were grouped into 14 categories: control, denigration, deprivation, intimidation, threats, abdication of responsibility, manipulation, blame, harassment, negation of reality, indifference, making the wife feel guilty, sulking, and infantilization. Control behaviours were found to be the central category. Control dynamics increased at retirement, when children left home and when husbands experienced a decrease in health status. Implications for practice are also discussed.
Reducing poverty among older women: social security reform and gender equity
- Authors:
- GONYEA Judith G., HOOYMAN Nancy R.
- Journal article citation:
- Families in Society, 86(3), July 2005, pp.338-346.
- Publisher:
- The Alliance for Children and Families
The authors document the higher poverty rate of older women, especially women from minority ethnic groups, compared with older men. They then review how the U.S. Social Security program generally benefits older women and reduces their late-life economic vulnerability. A persistent gender inequity, however, is that women are more likely to disrupt their paid employment to meet family care responsibilities, which may increase the number of zero-earnings years and reduce the amount paid into Social Security. Current proposals to privatize the Social Security system are critiqued in terms of their gender inequities. Three relatively revenue-neutral proposals that could increase Social Security’s protection against poverty and differentially affect low income women are briefly discussed.
HIV-risk factors for midlife and older women
- Authors:
- NEUNDORFER Marcia M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 45(5), October 2005, pp.617-625.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
In this qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 HIV-positive women, aged 45 to 71 years from the USA, regarding their exposure to HIV. From these narratives, five individual factors or themes that put women at risk for HIV were identified: drug and alcohol abuse; not knowing the HIV-risk histories of male sexual partners; mental health issues, including physical or sexual abuse and life crises; taking risks for the sake of relationships; and lack of HIV-prevention information. These individual factors and sociocultural factors related to gender, age, and race and ethnicity were organized into a model of HIV-risk factors for midlife and older women. This model identifies themes to be addressed in HIV-prevention policy, practice, and research in order to reduce the number of new cases of HIV infection among midlife and older women.
Older women with breast cancer: caregiving and the risk of depression- an exploratory analysis
- Authors:
- PARRISH Monique M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Health Care, 40(4), 2005, pp.41-59.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Objectives: The primary objective of this exploratory analysis was to assess the prevalence of caregiving among older (60+) newly diagnosed female breast cancer patients and to examine the risk of depression associated with breast cancer, caregiving, and age, at 3 months and 12 months after diagnosis. Methods: Data from interviews conducted for the case-control study, Health and Functioning in Women with Breast Cancer (HFW), were used for this analysis. Interviews were conducted at 3 months and 12 months post-diagnosis. Participants for this analysis were restricted to those who completed both interviews (cases n = 904; controls n = 966). Risk of depression was assessed using a self-reported depression question from the HFW instrument. Results: The multivariate analysis showed that stage of breast cancer was significantly related to depression among older women with breast cancer while controlling for various socio-demographic factors; however, caregiving did not significantly increase the risk for depression for this population. Discussion: A breast cancer diagnosis for women, regardless of age or caregiving status, presented an increased risk of depression at 3 and 12 months post-diagnosis. These and other findings and their implications for social work practice are discussed.
The CIDI as an instrument for diagnosing depression in older Turkish and Moroccan labour migrants: an exploratory study into equivalence
- Authors:
- SMITS Carolien H. M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(5), May 2005, pp.436-445.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The number of elderly migrants from Turkey and Morocco in Western Europe will increase sharply in the coming decades. Many of these migrants seem to have mental health problems. As mental health care programs are based on DSM criteria, there is a need for diagnostic instruments with good psychometric properties. This exploratory study examines the presence of construct bias, method bias and item bias in the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) Basis Life time version 2.1 in elderly Turkish and Moroccan men and women. From a community based health survey four groups of migrants aged 55-74 were selected for semi-structured interviews including the CIDI depression section. Data included interview transcriptions and observations of 11 respondents in each group (Turkish men, Turkish women, Moroccan men, and Moroccan women). The data were analysed using qualitative techniques. Construct bias, method bias and item bias of the CIDI was found in all groups. The poor match between the CIDI on the one hand and the taboo on mental health problems and the poor level of education of the respondents can partly explain this bias. The use of the CIDI in elderly migrants of Moroccan and Turkish descent is problematic, due to the presence of construct, method and item bias.
Sexual offending on elderly women: a review
- Author:
- BALL Hadrian N.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), 16(1), March 2005, pp.127-138.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Despite the not infrequent occurrence of the rape of an elderly woman and the subsequent public shock that is generated, this type of offence remains poorly reported in the medical and scientific literature. This article reviews what little literature is available and brings together the existing knowledge about the phenomenon. The paucity of hard data is emphasized along with the almost complete lack of understanding in respect of the underlying motivations within this offender group. Further work is required, namely the development of theoretical models and the conducting of robust observational studies.
Ensuring a minimum: social security reform and women
- Author:
- HERD Pamela
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 45(1), February 2005, pp.12-25.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The potential effects of implementing three different minimum benefits in Social Security, which have accompanied proposals to privatize the program and reform family benefits, are examined in relation to the adequacy of benefits for women reaching age 62 between 2020 and 2030. The 1992 Health and Retirement Study is used to conduct a simplified microsimulation. The minimum benefit proposal accompanying privatization proposals, which requires 40 earnings years for a poverty level benefit, fails to cover significant numbers of vulnerable women. The elimination of spousal benefits, criticized for being outdated and regressive, helps offset the costs of more generous minimum benefits, such as those that require residency or 10 earnings years for eligibility. Noncontributory benefits distributed based on marital status are not as effective at protecting poorer women, as well as a new generation of women that is less likely to be married, than are minimum benefits where eligibility is tied to U.S. residency or simply Social Security eligibility.