Five-year all-cause mortality rates across five categories of substantiated elder abuse occurring in the community

ABSTRACT

Elder abuse increases the likelihood of early mortality, but little is known regarding which types of abuse may be resulting in the greatest mortality risk. This study included N = 1,670 cases of substantiated elder abuse and estimated the 5-year all-cause mortality for five types of elder abuse (caregiver neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial exploitation, and polyvictimization). Statistically significant differences in 5-year mortality risks were found between abuse types and across gender. Caregiver neglect and financial exploitation had the lowest survival rates, underscoring the value of considering the long-term consequences associated with different forms of abuse. Likewise, mortality differences between genders and abuse types indicate the need to consider this interaction in elder abuse case investigations and responses. Further mortality studies are needed in this population to better understand these patterns and implications for public health and clinical management of community-dwelling elder abuse victims.     

大道通天--评赖少其晚年的山水画及"丙寅变法"的历史意义

简述了赖少其是中国画家中最值得重视的大师之一,当代中国画因赖少其的存在而骄傲的依据.剖析定居广州后赖少其的中国画"丙寅变法"三阶段的特点及历史意义.作为一个艺术家、学者,赖少其的生命已依附到那些卓尔不群的作品之中;作为一个绘画大师,赖少其的灵魂已铸刻在20世纪的中国文化史上.     

Older adults affected by polyvictimization: A review of early research

ABSTRACT

In contrast to work within the child-abuse field, polyvictimization of older adults did not become a focus of professional attention until this decade. Despite this lack of formal identification, a search of the research and practice literature revealed that prior research investigating single forms of or other elder abuse issues contained evidence of what was variously termed “multiple,” “multi-faceted,” “co-occurring,” or “hybrid” elder abuse. A wide range of victims (1.4%–89.7%) identified in existing elder abuse studies was found to have experienced what constitutes “polyvictimization.” This late-life polyvictimization evidence, the contexts in which victims are harmed, and information regarding the impact of multifaceted elder abuse are all presented and discussed in this article. Selected published cases illustrate the clinical dynamics operating in late-life polyvictimization situations.     

Polyvictimization in later life: Trauma-informed best practices

ABSTRACT

This article provides a summary of salient trauma findings and conveys the dearth of research pertaining specifically to the trauma of elder abuse. This material, in conjunction with information contained in other articles composing this special issue, lays the foundation for advancing a trauma-informed approach to assisting older adults who have experienced polyvictimization. Informed by the findings presented and their extensive clinical experience with victims of violence, the authors suggest steps for providing a trauma-informed and victim-centered response to older adults who have suffered polyvictimization. These steps are then illustrated with an in-depth late-life polyvictimization case analysis.     

Modelling Deceleration in Senescent Mortality

Mortality deceleration is the observed but yet to be understood phenomenon that the increase in the late-life death rate slows down after a certain species-related advanced age. Various definitions of onsets of mortality deceleration are examined. A new distribution based on the Strehler-Mildvan theory of aging takes on the required shapes. The application is done on mortality data from the 1892 cohort of Swedish women and on Mediterranean fruit flies.     

Mid- and Late-Life Divorce and Parents’ Perceptions of Emerging Adult Children’s Emotional Reactions

A paucity of research exists pertaining to the experiences of emerging adult children in the context of parental divorce. This study uses Paul R. Amato’s divorce-stress-adjustment framework to organize a set of predictors that potentially influence parents’ perceptions of their emerging adult children’s emotional reactions to a divorce. Data come from a nationally representative AARP study, from which we analyzed a sample of 283 parents who experienced a divorce at age 40 years or older. Results indicate that parental gender, nature of contact with the ex-partner, divorce timing, time spent contemplating divorce, a history of parental divorce, and the reason for divorce influence parents’ perceptions of their emerging adult children’s reaction to the divorce. Implications, limitations, and future direction for research are discussed.     

Effects of a Mid- to Late-Life Parental Divorce on Adult Children

There is a dearth of research on whether and how a later-life parental divorce influences the lives of adult children. Through qualitative interviews with 40 adult children of divorce (ACD)—those whose parents divorced after they were 18 years of age—ACD were asked to discuss their experience of the parental divorce. There were commonalities experienced by the ACD. However, only half of the ACD were initially affected negatively by their parents’ divorce, whereas the other half did not have a tough time initially. Factors including being “put in the middle,” along with strained parent–child relationships, were found to have the potential to affect one’s experience.     

’Til Divorce Do Us Part: Marriage Dissolution in Later Life

Late-life divorce—commonly referred to as gray divorce—is a rising trend that parallels the growth of the older adult population. We sought to gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of marriage dissolution, the divorce process, and life following divorce in a sample of older adults who divorced after more than 20 years of marriage. Qualitative data were collected from 10 divorcees (7 women and 3 men; M age = 63.5) and analyzed to understand the gray divorce experience; that is, factors that determined or delayed the decision to divorce and divorcees’ coping during and after divorce. Participants’ stories demonstrate that marriages endure despite problems because relationships are complex, and good experiences mix with bad ones. Outcomes of late-life divorce have significant health and financial implications for both individuals and society.     

Pathways to Problem Gambling in Seniors

Little is known about problem gambling in older adults, particularly when gambling problems only commence late in life. Knowledge of pathways to later life problem gambling can assist prompt and effective interventions for vulnerable older adults. This study builds on a generic Pathways Model. It proposes routes to problem gambling for individuals aged 55 years and above, with a particular focus on late-life, rather than lifetime problem gambling. Gambling-related risk and protective factors/correlates were extracted from the literature based on the extent to which the studies were senior-specific. Common themes were then identified and classified into 3 main clusters: 1 concerning individual vulnerability factors, a 2nd concerning social and environmental factors, and a 3rd concerning factors affecting behavioural regulation.