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Family Violence and Health Among Elderly in Croatia

NCJ Number
227210
Journal
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: April/May 2009 Pages: 261-279
Author(s)
Marina Ajdukovic; Jelena Ogresta; Silvia Rusac
Date Published
May 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study focused on the violence that seniors face in the family in Croatia, with one such form being intimate partner violence (IPV).
Abstract
Results showed that 61.1 percent of elders had been exposed to at least some form of violence in the family during the previous year. On average, the most prevalent form of violence was psychological abuse, with 24.1 percent of seniors experiencing it in the previous year. The next most common type of abuse was financial exploitation (6.4 percent). The study showed that victims of family abuse had poorer psychological health then those who had not been abused. In further research of elder abuse, it will be important to distinguish between "minor" and "severe" assaults and to study the risk factors for intimate partner violence and family elder abuse, including previous violence in relationships, characteristics of the perpetrators, and characteristics of the community. The study illustrated the estimates of the prevalence of elder abuse and its possible relation to the psychological functioning of elderly in Croatia. The research was carried out on a sample of 303 elderly men and women. The objectives of the study were: (1) to gain an overview of the incidence of different forms of family violence against the elderly in Croatia and characteristics of perpetrators; (2) to examine the subjective assessment of physical and mental health relative to experiencing family violence and the gender of the perpetrator; and (3) to relate the incidence of alcohol consumption to experiencing violence in the family and to the gender of the perpetrator. Figure, tables, and references