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  • Social Support, Socio-Economic Status, Health and Abuse among Older People in Seven European Countries

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    MelchiorrePUB9.PDF (194.6Kb)
    Author(s)
    Melchiorre, Maria Gabriella
    Chiatti, Carlos
    Lamura, Giovanni
    Torres-Gonzales, Francisco
    Stankunas, Mindaugas
    Lindert, Jutta
    Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth
    Barros, Henrique
    Macassa, Gloria
    Soares, Joaquim FJ
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Stankunas, Mindaugas
    Year published
    2013
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    Abstract
    Background Social support has a strong impact on individuals, not least on older individuals with health problems. A lack of support network and poor family or social relations may be crucial in later life, and represent risk factors for elder abuse. This study focused on the associations between social support, demographics/socio-economics, health variables and elder mistreatment. Methods The cross-sectional data was collected by means of interviews or interviews/self-response during January-July 2009, among a sample of 4,467 not demented individuals aged 60-84 years living in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, ...
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    Background Social support has a strong impact on individuals, not least on older individuals with health problems. A lack of support network and poor family or social relations may be crucial in later life, and represent risk factors for elder abuse. This study focused on the associations between social support, demographics/socio-economics, health variables and elder mistreatment. Methods The cross-sectional data was collected by means of interviews or interviews/self-response during January-July 2009, among a sample of 4,467 not demented individuals aged 60-84 years living in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden). Results Multivariate analyses showed that women and persons living in large households and with a spouse/partner or other persons were more likely to experience high levels of social support. Moreover, frequent use of health care services and low scores on depression or discomfort due to physical complaints were indicators of high social support. Low levels of social support were related to older age and abuse, particularly psychological abuse. Conclusions High levels of social support may represent a protective factor in reducing both the vulnerability of older people and risk of elder mistreatment. On the basis of these results, policy makers, clinicians and researchers could act by developing intervention programmes that facilitate friendships and social activities in old age.
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    Journal Title
    PloS One
    Volume
    8
    Issue
    1
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054856
    Copyright Statement
    © 2013 Melchiorre et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
    Subject
    Aged Health Care
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/55916
    Collection
    • Journal articles

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