title: Elder abuse in Portugal: findings from the first national prevalence study.
abstract: In this study, we present findings of the Portuguese national prevalence study, "Aging and Violence," the purpose of which was to estimate the prevalence of abuse and neglect of older people in family settings over a 12-month period and examine the relationship between abuse and sociodemographic and health characteristics. Through a telephone survey of a representative probability sample (N = 1,123), we evaluated 12 abusive behaviors and demographic data. Overall, 12.3% of older adults experienced elder abuse in family settings. The prevalence rates of specific types were as follows: psychological, 6.3%; financial, 6.3%; physical, 2.3%; neglect, 0.4%; and sexual, 0.2%. Logistic regression was employed to determine the relationship between abuse and covariates. The study suggests that education level, age, and functional status are significantly associated with abuse. Accurate estimates of the prevalence of elder abuse and understanding of victim and perpetrator characteristics are fundamental to designing effective strategies for prevention and intervention.
authors.affiliation: a National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge , Lisbon , Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana Paula Martins
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kislaya
authors.forename: Ana João
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Baltazar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nicolau
authors.forename: Ana Alexandre
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Fernandes
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011174:Portugal / Q000208:ethnology; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Portugal; abuse and neglect; family context; older adults; prevalence