Intimate partner violence in late life: a review of the empirical literature.

This integrated review of the empirical literature synthesizes a decade of scientific research across scholarly and professional publications addressing intimate partner violence (IPV) in late life. Deriving insights through a qualitative coding scheme and detailed analysis of 57 empirical sources, we discuss the theoretical frameworks, conceptual themes, and methodological approaches that cut across the literature. Based on these findings, we identify future research directions for improved understanding of late-life IPV as well as implications for policy development and refined community interventions.

Violence against rural older women: promoting community awareness and action.

AIM: To identify opportunities and challenges in promoting community support for rural older women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). METHODS: Using community-based participatory research principles, we engaged in an academic-community partnership to analyse the research literature, estimate IPV incidence and prevalence, ascertain professional and older IPV victim perspectives through focus groups and interviews, and develop a collaborative community response plan. This study took place from 2008 to 2010 in the USA. RESULTS: IPV in late life is underreported by victims and often unrecognised by the academic and service community. Professionals, while agreeable to collaborating to support older IPV victims, sought coordination and leadership from domestic violence agencies. Older victims stressed the need for improved professional sensitivity to their unique needs and more service options. CONCLUSIONS: The insights generated during this project produced a framework on which rural communities can build to address the hidden and growing problem of late life IPV.

Family triad perceptions of mild cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVES: We examined subjective perceptions of memory loss among older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and two other relatives in order to improve understanding of family coping. We also investigated contextual conditions associated with perceptions of family dynamics and relationships. METHOD: We conducted interviews with 56 family triads (the elder with MCI, the primary care partner, and a secondary care partner). Guided by Pearlin and colleagues' caregiving stress process framework, questions addressed perceptions of memory changes and interpretation of the effects of MCI on family interaction patterns. RESULTS: Analyses of family triads revealed four degrees of the extent to which family members similarly acknowledged elders' MCI. The acknowledgment groups differed on history of family dynamics, experience with dementia, and perceived extent of memory change in the elder. Families characterized by full acknowledgment coped better with perceived changes in the elder's functioning than those in which members' perceptions of MCI were incongruent. DISCUSSION: Pursuing family-level data on responses to MCI uncovered more nuanced reactions, often differing across triad members, than individual-based research has found. Family perceptions about changes in elders' memory have important implications for within-family interactions and support that can help families cope successfully with MCI.