Sa. Compton et al., ELDER ABUSE IN PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA IN NORTHERN-IRELAND - PREVALENCE AND PREDICTORS IN CASES REFERRED TO A PSYCHIATRY OF OLD-AGE SERVICE, International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 12(6), 1997, pp. 632-635
Objective. To establish the prevalence of elder abuse in community-dwe
lling patients with dementia and to test the hypothesis that there is
no difference In carer and patient characteristics between the abused
and non-abused populations, Design. A cohort of consecutive referrals
was formed and subdivided by the presence or absence of abuse and the
two groups compared. Setting. A rural psychiatry of old age service In
N. Ireland. Subjects. Each case had been newly referred, was 65 years
old or over, lived at home, had an identifiable carer and met DSMIII-
R criteria for a diagnosis of dementia. There were 49 such cases; 38 c
arers agreed to be interviewed. Main outcome measures, The General Hea
lth Questionnaire: 28, the Gilleard Pre-Morbid Relationship Rating Sca
le and Gilleard's Problem Checklist were administered to the carer and
the information/orientation sub scale of the Clifton Assessment Proce
dure for the Elderly used to measure cognitive impairment in the patie
nt. Results, Abuse was elicited in 14 (37%) cases; four (10.5%) of phy
sical and 13 (34%) of verbal abuse. No cases of abuse by neglect were
detected. A poor premorbid relationship, verbal or physical abuse by t
he dependant, problem behaviours in the dependant, the carer's level o
f anxiety and a perception of not receiving help were significantly as
sociated with abuse. Alcohol consumption of the carer, physical depend
ence, severity of cognitive impairment or financial or social circumst
ances were not associated with elder abuse. Conclusions. Elder abuse i
s associated with aspects of the patient/carer relationship and should
be regarded as a significant problem in patients with dementia referr
ed to an old age service. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.