"How did I get here?": a qualitative life-course analysis of Australian women's experiences of elder abuse.
Background and Objectives We applied a life-course perspective to understand how older women's reported experiences of serious elder abuse were shaped by a history of violence and poverty. Research Design and Methods 17 participants (mean age 65.8, SD 4.5) self-reporting experiencing elder abuse wit...
| Publicado en: | Gerontologist Vol. 66; no. 7; pp. 1 - 11 |
|---|---|
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Oxford University Press / USA
Jul2026
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195281449&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195281449 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00169013 GET jtl: Gerontologist issn: 00169013 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 66 iid: 7 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 195281449 10.1093/geront/gnag122 ppf: 1 ppct: 10 formats: tig: atl: "How did I get here?": a qualitative life-course analysis of Australian women's experiences of elder abuse. aug: au: Brijnath, Bianca Muoio, Rachel Najman, Jake Marrington, Shelby Clavarino, Alexandra McGee, Tara Renae Gilbard, Anna affil: School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Division of Social Gerontology, National Ageing Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt, Queensland, Australia Family & Disability Services, UnitingCare Community, Toombul, Queensland, Australia su: Queensland Australia Abuse of older people Violence Qualitative research Health status indicators Socioeconomic factors Sex distribution Interviewing Psychology of women Domestic violence Aging Poverty Adverse childhood experiences Intergenerational relations Research funding Judgment sampling Descriptive statistics Longitudinal method Thematic analysis Life course approach Cognition disorders Research methodology Data analysis software sug: subj: Abuse of older people Violence Qualitative research Health status indicators Socioeconomic factors Sex distribution Interviewing Psychology of women Domestic violence Aging Poverty Adverse childhood experiences Intergenerational relations Queensland Australia Research funding Judgment sampling Descriptive statistics Longitudinal method Thematic analysis Life course approach Cognition disorders Research methodology Data analysis software keyword: aged ageism child copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 domestic violence economics elder abuse https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag122 inLanguage:en Life-course Lived experience Poly victimization publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42249555/ victimization aged ageism child copyrightHolder:The Gerontological Society of America copyrightYear:2026 domestic violence economics elder abuse https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnag122 inLanguage:en Life-course Lived experience Poly victimization publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42249555/ victimization ab: Background and Objectives We applied a life-course perspective to understand how older women's reported experiences of serious elder abuse were shaped by a history of violence and poverty. Research Design and Methods 17 participants (mean age 65.8, SD 4.5) self-reporting experiencing elder abuse within the past 12 months were purposively recruited from the longitudinal Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy cohort. They participated in a 1-hour semi-structured qualitative interview between April and November 2024 and their data were analyzed using a thematic approach. Results Participants were relatively healthy, cognitively unimpaired, and mainly from a low-income background (13, 76.5%). Elder abuse was part of a lifelong continuum of family violence beginning in childhood or midlife, with poly-victimization common and multifaceted. Poor health and advancing age compounded participant's vulnerability, while cumulative economic disadvantage was gendered and heightened women's risk in later life. Finally, violent and misogynistic media content, a growing intergenerational wealth gap, and gendered ageism were seen as contextual factors deepening intergenerational divides and eroding familial cohesion. Discussion and Implications This study is the first in Australia to examine elder abuse through a life-course lens, drawing directly on older women's lived accounts. The findings demonstrate how interlocking patterns of dependence, declining health, and cumulative inequality converge in later life. Viewing elder abuse through this perspective moves attention beyond isolated incidents to the broader patterns that shape vulnerability, informing prevention and policy strategies that tackle the structural and relational determinants of abuse across the lifespan. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|