Informal Supporters of Elder Abuse Victims: Who Are They and What Is Their Experience Seeking Help?
Fraga Dominguez, Silvia and Storey, Jennifer E. and Glorney, Emily (2021) Informal Supporters of Elder Abuse Victims: Who Are They and What Is Their Experience Seeking Help? Journal of Family Violence. ISSN 1573-2851
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10.1007/s10896-021-00347-5 - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (257kB) |
Abstract
This study examined the characteristics and experiences of informal supporters of elder abuse victims, including family members, friends, and neighbors—referred to as concerned persons. The researchers utilized secondary data from a UK national elder abuse helpline to investigate the profile and help-seeking experiences (including the impact of helping) of concerned persons reporting abuse to the helpline. The researchers focused on one year of data (2017–2018), and 1623 records met inclusion criteria. Of these, 1352 were reported by a concerned person, and descriptive statistics are provided to describe this sample. The help-seeking experience was investigated using qualitative content analysis. Concerned persons were primarily female family members, often adult children of the victim and siblings of the perpetrator. They faced barriers to helping the victim, particularly in relation to formal services. Many also reported impact as a result of knowing about the abuse or helping the victim; particularly to their mental health and their relationship with the victim. Findings indicate that concerned persons often face substantial barriers and negative impact when they support elder abuse victims. There is a need to advance research on concerned persons and identify ways of effectively supporting them, given their essential role in facilitating elder abuse victims’ access to formal services.
| Item Type: | Article | ||||||
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| Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00347-5 | ||||||
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Elder mistreatment; Concerned persons; Family members; Help-seeking; Barriers | ||||||
| Subjects: | CAH04 - psychology > CAH04-01 - psychology > CAH04-01-05 - others in psychology | ||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences > Dept. Psychology | ||||||
| Depositing User: | Silvia Fraga Dominguez | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jun 2022 14:02 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 22 Jun 2022 14:02 | ||||||
| URI: | https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/13331 |
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