Citation

Mysyuk Y, Westendorp RG, Lindenberg J. J. Interpers. Violence 2016; 31(18): 3039-3062.

Affiliation

Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260515584338

PMID

25957060

Abstract

This article focuses on the development of a conceptual framework for explaining the etiology of violence in later life by various groups involved in the field of elder abuse. In this study, we explore this through eight focus groups with different professionals involved in the field of elder abuse and older persons themselves and in interviews with 35 experts in the field. Our findings show that dependency, vulnerability, power and control, social isolation, stress, and care burden play a central role in their explanations for the occurrence of violence in later life. The role of a history of violence in violence in later life is equivocal. The complexity and ambiguity of dependency and vulnerability, the notion of mutual dependency, and diverse attitudes and expectations toward them that arise with the aging process are distinct features of violence in later life that were found.

Language: en