Elder mistreatment and psychological resilience: the moderating role of social support.

This study examines the possible consequence of elder mistreatment on resilience and whether social support moderates this posited association, using a rural sample of 432 community-dwelling older Chinese adults aged 60 to 79 years. Elder abuse included verbal abuse, physical abuse, or financial exploitation. Social support was measured by The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Resilience was represented by a seven-item scale. Hierarchical regression models indicated that mistreatment is significantly related to low levels of resilience when confounding factors are adjusted. A significant interaction term (abuse × social support) was also detected. Mistreated respondents who reported higher levels of social support were less likely to experience low resilience compared to those with lower levels of social support. Social support buffers against the undesirable effect of mistreatment on resilience, especially for those who were abused.

Homicide Illustrated Across the Ages: Graphic Depictions of Victim and Offender Age, Sex, and Relationship.

Objective: A total of 34 years of FBI Supplementary Homicide Reports were examined using statistical graphics to illustrate patterns across ages, by sex, and victim/offender relationships (intimate partner [IP], other family, acquaintance, or stranger). Method: An innovative fourfold display and victim/sex-specific scatterplots with overlaid deviation ellipses determine the age/sex patterns for each relationship. Results: We illustrate numerous acquaintance killings among young men and improve our understanding of predictors by sex, relationship, and circumstances in mid/later life. Male victims of strangers are either older with young male offenders or vice versa. Female acquaintance and stranger homicides are rare. Within families, older male parents are killed by adult offspring, but rarely by IP. The majority of elder femicide is perpetrated by IP or other family. Discussion: U.S. murder rates are rising, and we found children from 6 to 12 years were least likely to die by homicide. Elder femicide risk from IP and other kin indicated danger from within the home.

Lethal intimate partner violence in later life: Understanding measurements, strengths, and limitations of research.

The aim of this article is to conduct a critical analysis of existing family violence literature related to elder abuse homicide, also known as "eldercide." The focus relates to fatal violence perpetrated by current or former intimates. Men are the most likely victims of homicide but are rarely murdered by partners. Older women are most often killed in the home by a spouse or other family, consistent with the notion of "femicide." The Federal Bureau of Investigation Supplemental Homicide Reports and the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey are utilized to illustrate trends by sex over time. Intimate partner homicide-suicide is examined via news surveillance. Strengths and limitations of data and methods are addressed. Homicide trends among the members of the baby boom cohort are predicted based on current and future patterns as they age. To facilitate prevention, researchers are encouraged to move beyond simple prevalence estimates toward greater understanding of complex trends, distinctions, and motivations of these violent deaths.

Patterns of intimate partner homicide suicide in later life: strategies for prevention.

Intimate partner homicide suicide (IPHS) constitutes the most violent domestic abuse outcome, devastating individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities. This research used content analysis to analyze 225 murder suicide events (444 deaths) among dyads with at least one member 60 or older. Data were collected from newspaper articles, television news transcripts, police reports and obituaries published between 1999 and 2005. Findings suggest the most dangerous setting was the home and the majority of perpetrators were men. Firearms were most often employed in the violence. Relationship strife was present in some cases, but only slightly higher than the divorce rate for that age group. Illness was cited in just over half of the cases, but 30% of sick elderly couples had only a perpetrator who was ill. Evidence of suicide pacts and mercy killings were very rare and practitioners are encouraged to properly investigate these events. Suicidal men in this age range must be recognized as a potential threat to others, primarily their partner. Homicide was sometimes the primary motive, and the perpetrators in those cases resembled the "intimate terrorist." Victims in those cases were often terrorized before the murder. Clinicians are educated about the patterns of fatal violence in later life dyads and provided with strategies for prevention.

Infantilization as elder mistreatment:evidence from five adult day centers.

To prevent maltreatment, aging services must be age appropriate even as consumers suffer from physical and cognitive disabilities. In this paper, it is argued that exposing older persons to childoriented settings, activities and speech patterns in aging service environments represent a form of psychological mistreatment. Ethnographic evidence from 220 hours of field observations in five "social model" adult day centers revealed infantilization of service users in the form of confinement, baby-talk, nicknames, child-oriented decor, teacher-student learning format, reprimands, use of toys, as well as a loss of privacy regulation, autonomy, choice, and adult status. All centers exhibited some mistreatment, but severe examples were present in two of the five centers studied. Negative influences on behavior, well-being, self-identity, relationship formation, and social interaction were detected, which distinguished mistreatment from poor quality of care. Insider interviews (23) revealed resentment and adaptive strategies employed to distance themselves from infantilization.

Invisible in aging research: Arab Americans, Middle Eastern immigrants, and Muslims in the United States.

Recent worldwide events have focused greater attention on the Middle East. Little is known about the diverse populations of older persons living in the United States who have Middle Eastern origins and/or practice Islam. Stereotypes and backlash can negatively influence the quality of life for mid- and later-life individuals and their families. Gerontologists can improve conditions by incorporating new knowledge of these groups into research, policy, and practice to dispel stereotypes and provide appropriate services. This article focuses on the demographic characteristics and diversity among mid- and later-life Arab Americans, Muslims, and Middle Eastern immigrants and their descendants. Further research is needed to shed light on the family support, social patterns, housing environments, health care needs, service utilization, and quality of life among immigrants and their descendants across the life course.

Intergenerational partnerships in adult day centers: importance of age-appropriate environments and behaviors.

PURPOSE: This research identified the potential for infantilization of clients in centers that offer an occasional program of combined adult and child day care. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study used a comparative ethnographic approach, which analyzed observation and interview data collected from two adult day centers that offered intergenerational activities. Special attention was paid to the environment, behaviors, and clients' interaction patterns. RESULTS: The adult day center cultures varied widely in age appropriateness, opportunities for autonomy, privacy regulation, choice, and adult interaction, especially as children were introduced into the setting. Infantilization occurred in the intergenerational program when the adults and children were treated as status equals, and the activities and environments were only child oriented. Older persons perceived a need for an "escape option" if contact with children was overstimulating or age inappropriate. Positive intergenerational experiences involved adults in a mentoring role, voluntary participation, and client-initiated contact with children. IMPLICATIONS: This study explores the influence of intergenerational programming in adult day centers, and bridges the gap between theory and practice with implications for other aging services.