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Abuse of Older Men in Seven European Countries: A Multilevel Approach in the Framework of an Ecological Model

BACKGROUND: Several studies on elder abuse indicate that a large number of victims are women, but others report that men in later life are also significantly abused, especially when they show symptoms of disability and poor health, and require help for their daily activities as a result. This study...

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Autores principales: Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella, Di Rosa, Mirko, Lamura, Giovanni, Torres-Gonzales, Francisco, Lindert, Jutta, Stankunas, Mindaugas, Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth, Barros, Henrique, Macassa, Gloria, Soares, Joaquim J. F.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4718635/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26784897
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146425
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author Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella
Di Rosa, Mirko
Lamura, Giovanni
Torres-Gonzales, Francisco
Lindert, Jutta
Stankunas, Mindaugas
Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth
Barros, Henrique
Macassa, Gloria
Soares, Joaquim J. F.
author_facet Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella
Di Rosa, Mirko
Lamura, Giovanni
Torres-Gonzales, Francisco
Lindert, Jutta
Stankunas, Mindaugas
Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth
Barros, Henrique
Macassa, Gloria
Soares, Joaquim J. F.
author_sort Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Several studies on elder abuse indicate that a large number of victims are women, but others report that men in later life are also significantly abused, especially when they show symptoms of disability and poor health, and require help for their daily activities as a result. This study focused on the prevalence of different types of abuse experienced by men and on a comparison of male victims and non-victims concerning demographic/socio-economic characteristics, lifestyle/health variables, social support and quality of life. Additionally, the study identified factors associated with different types of abuse experienced by men and characteristics associated with the victims. METHODS: The cross-sectional data concerning abuse in the past 12 months were collected by means of interviews and self-response during January-July 2009, from a sample of 4,467 not demented individuals aged between 60–84 years living in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and Sweden). We used a multilevel approach, within the framework of an Ecological Model, to explore the phenomenon of abuse against males as the complex result of factors from multiple levels: individual, relational, community and societal. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses showed that older men educated to higher levels, blue-collar workers and men living in a rented accommodation were more often victims than those educated to lower levels, low-rank white-collar workers and home owners, respectively. In addition, high scores for factors such as somatic and anxiety symptoms seemed linked with an increased probability of being abused. Conversely, factors such as increased age, worries about daily expenses (financial strain) and greater social support seemed linked with a decreased probability of being abused. CONCLUSIONS: Male elder abuse is under-recognized, under-detected and under-reported, mainly due to the vulnerability of older men and to social/cultural norms supporting traditional male characteristics of stoicism and strength. Further specific research on the topic is necessary in the light of the present findings. Such research should focus, in particular, on societal/community aspects, as well as individual and family ones, as allowed by the framework of the Ecological Model, which in turn could represent a useful method also for developing prevention strategies for elder abuse.
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spelling pubmed-47186352016-01-30 Abuse of Older Men in Seven European Countries: A Multilevel Approach in the Framework of an Ecological Model Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella Di Rosa, Mirko Lamura, Giovanni Torres-Gonzales, Francisco Lindert, Jutta Stankunas, Mindaugas Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth Barros, Henrique Macassa, Gloria Soares, Joaquim J. F. PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Several studies on elder abuse indicate that a large number of victims are women, but others report that men in later life are also significantly abused, especially when they show symptoms of disability and poor health, and require help for their daily activities as a result. This study focused on the prevalence of different types of abuse experienced by men and on a comparison of male victims and non-victims concerning demographic/socio-economic characteristics, lifestyle/health variables, social support and quality of life. Additionally, the study identified factors associated with different types of abuse experienced by men and characteristics associated with the victims. METHODS: The cross-sectional data concerning abuse in the past 12 months were collected by means of interviews and self-response during January-July 2009, from a sample of 4,467 not demented individuals aged between 60–84 years living in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and Sweden). We used a multilevel approach, within the framework of an Ecological Model, to explore the phenomenon of abuse against males as the complex result of factors from multiple levels: individual, relational, community and societal. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses showed that older men educated to higher levels, blue-collar workers and men living in a rented accommodation were more often victims than those educated to lower levels, low-rank white-collar workers and home owners, respectively. In addition, high scores for factors such as somatic and anxiety symptoms seemed linked with an increased probability of being abused. Conversely, factors such as increased age, worries about daily expenses (financial strain) and greater social support seemed linked with a decreased probability of being abused. CONCLUSIONS: Male elder abuse is under-recognized, under-detected and under-reported, mainly due to the vulnerability of older men and to social/cultural norms supporting traditional male characteristics of stoicism and strength. Further specific research on the topic is necessary in the light of the present findings. Such research should focus, in particular, on societal/community aspects, as well as individual and family ones, as allowed by the framework of the Ecological Model, which in turn could represent a useful method also for developing prevention strategies for elder abuse. Public Library of Science 2016-01-19 /pmc/articles/PMC4718635/ /pubmed/26784897 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146425 Text en © 2016 Melchiorre et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella
Di Rosa, Mirko
Lamura, Giovanni
Torres-Gonzales, Francisco
Lindert, Jutta
Stankunas, Mindaugas
Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth
Barros, Henrique
Macassa, Gloria
Soares, Joaquim J. F.
Abuse of Older Men in Seven European Countries: A Multilevel Approach in the Framework of an Ecological Model
title Abuse of Older Men in Seven European Countries: A Multilevel Approach in the Framework of an Ecological Model
title_full Abuse of Older Men in Seven European Countries: A Multilevel Approach in the Framework of an Ecological Model
title_fullStr Abuse of Older Men in Seven European Countries: A Multilevel Approach in the Framework of an Ecological Model
title_full_unstemmed Abuse of Older Men in Seven European Countries: A Multilevel Approach in the Framework of an Ecological Model
title_short Abuse of Older Men in Seven European Countries: A Multilevel Approach in the Framework of an Ecological Model
title_sort abuse of older men in seven european countries: a multilevel approach in the framework of an ecological model
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4718635/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26784897
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146425
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