In Turkish Elderly Population Elder Abuse and Neglect: A Study Of Prevalence, Related Risk Factors and Perceived Social support

Abstract

Introduction: In this study it was aimed to find out the relationship between the perceived social support levels, to determine the prevelance of elder abuse and neglect(EAN) among Turkish population aged 60 and over and to detect the risk factors leading to EAN. Materials and method: A total of 452 elders were enrolled in this study. Data were collected by interviewing the Subjects and by using Information Form on the experience of EAN, Socio-Demographic Information Form and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) Results: Prevalence rates of 28.5% for abuse and neglect. Among the abused and neglected, 58.9% were male. The Mean +/- s.d. total MSPSS for the EAN group was 37, 14 +/- 11, 13 and for the Non-EAN group it was 76, 39 +/- 5, 751. There were statistically significant differences between those groups(p<0.001). A higher social support level was observed in Non-EAN group. After binary regression, only perceived social support (OR, 0.763, CI, 0.708-0.823, P<0, 001) was found to be associated with elder abuse and neglect. Conclusion: Higher social support may be a protective factor against Elder abuse and neglect in this population.