Centre for Policy on Ageing



"That triggers me right off" — factors influencing abuse and violence in older people's care-giving relationships
Author(s)	M Hughes
Journal title	Australian Journal on Ageing, vol 16, no 2,, 1997
Pages	pp 53-60
Keywords	Elder abuse ; Aggression ; Informal care ; Family relationships ; Spouses ; Case studies ; Australia.
Annotation	While the role of family members and spouses as informal caregivers of older people is increasingly valued in Australia, few studies have investigated the impact of pre-caregiving abuse or violence on these relationships. This paper presents results of semi-structured interviews with 43 primary caregivers in 47 caregiving relationships, and examined two risk factors. First, care-receivers with mental health problems (including dementia) appeared no more likely than others to have initiated abuse or violence, although their caregivers were more likely to have directed violence towards them. Second, a series of associations indicated that pre-caregiving experiences of abuse and violence were key risk factors for similar experiences during caregiving. This was even the case in those relationships involving a care receiver with mental health problems. Implications for research, social policy and service delivery are considered.
Accession Number	CPA-971014233 A
Classmark	QNT: EPB: P6: DS:SJ: SN: 69P: 7YA
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.