Hc. Comijs et al., Psychological distress in victims of elder mistreatment: The effects of social support and coping, J GERONT B, 54(4), 1999, pp. P240-P245
Citations number
35
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","Medical Research General Topics
Journal title
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
The objective of the study was to examine psychological distress in victims
of elder mistreatment and to determine whether social support, coping styl
e, mastery, and perceived self-efficacy favorably influence the psychologic
al health of these victims The study sample consisted of 77 subjects who re
ported recent chronic verbal aggression, physical aggression, or financial
mistreatment, and a control group of 147 subjects who had not been mistreat
ed. All participants were elderly persons who were over 65 years of age and
living independently in the community Serial support, coping style, master
y, and perceived self-efficacy,were measured by means of a standardized hom
e interview: psychological distress,vas measured by means of the General He
alth Questionnaire (GHQ-I2). Victims of elder mistreatment had significanly
higher levels of psychological distress than nonvictims. Social support sh
owed a favorable effect on the level of psychological distress in victims,
but not in nonvictims; victims who received more social support showed less
psychological distress. A lower sense of mastery, a negative perception of
self-efficacy, and a passive reaction pattern were associated with higher
levels of psychological distress in victims as well as in nonvictims. The b
eneficial role of social support, locus of control, and perceived self-effi
cacy on the level of psychological distress could be of importance in the d
evelopment of future intervention programs.