The impact of psychological maltreatment and social support on self-perceived health in a large nationally representative sample of elderly men and women above 60 years old in Lebanon -

Abstract

Psychological maltreatment, or emotional maltreatment, is just one of many forms of elder maltreatment-abuse. Unlike others, elder psychological mistreatment can happen easily without one even knowing; 5percent of the elderly around the world have experienced abuse at home, and in USA 1 out of 5 elderly are being abused (WHO, 2011). It is estimated that by 2050 the number of older adults will outgrow the number of children in the world. All of which, will disrupt the social support systems of the elderly and weaken the familial and community bonds. The only study in Lebanon that looked into elder abuse showed that psychological mistreatment is the number one form of abuse among the Lebanese elderly population, and the only study that looked into elder social support proved that the literature in Lebanon around this topic is still inadequate. Psychological maltreatment and social support and their relationship with self-perceived health (SPH) is still understudied despite the growing attention it has brought to the public and despite the fact that poor SPH can accurately predict morbidity and mortality later in life. This study aimed to assess the association between psychological elder abuse inside and outside the family, and social support with SPH. Methods: This is a cross-sectional population-based study based on a secondary data analysis from the 2004 Pan Arab Population and Family Household Health Survey (PAPFAM). The survey targeted 1812 older people, aged 65-100 years, in Lebanon. The independent variables and outcome were assessed using logistic regression models. Different models were derived and compared using Information criteria and test of Goodness of fit (GoF). Results: It was found that females have worse SPH than males and that psychological maltreatment inside and outside the family and social support significantly affect the elderly ratings of SPH; with the latter being stronger in predicting the association since it alone was significant after adjusting for all covariates while psychological maltr