USA: Survey of 370 Women >65 Years of Age Reports Intimate Partner Violence

NEW YORK (Global Action on Ageing), October 10, 2007: The Gerontologist, September 2007, has published the results of an investigation on Intimate Partner Violence in Older Women. Amy E. Bonomi, Department of Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University in Columbus and six other researchers interviewed a random sample of 370 English-speaking older women (65 years of age and older) living in the US. The team has reported a lifetime partner violence prevalence of 26.5%, with 18.4% of women enduring physical or sexual abuse, or both, and 21.9% facing nonphysical abuse (i.e., psychological abuse defined as threats or controlling behavior). Intimate Partner Violence Questions Using 5 questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and 10 questions from the Women’s Experience with Battering (WEB) Scale, the researchers assessed the women's exposure to partner violence. The 10 WEB Scale questions: * My partner made me feel unsafe even in my own home. * I felt ashamed of the things my partner did to me. * I tried not to rock the boat because I was afraid of what my partner might do. * I felt like I was programmed to react a certain way. * I felt like my partner kept me a prisoner. * My partner could scare me without laying a hand on me. * I hid the truth from others because I was afraid not to. * I felt owned and controlled by my partner. * My partner made me feel like I had no control over my life. * My partner had a look that went straight through me and terrified me. The 5 BRFSS Scale Questions Sexual * Has an intimate partner ever forced you to participate in a sex act (e.g., oral, vaginal, or anal penetration) against your will? * Ever threatened, coerced or physically forced you into any sexual contact that did not result in intercourse or penetration? Physical * Ever hit, slapped, shoved, choked, kicked, shaken, or otherwise physically hurt you? Nonphysical * Ever been frightened for your safety, or that of your family or friends because of anger or threats of an intimate partner? * Ever put you down, or called you names repeatedly, or controlled your behavior? Notes: WEB=Women’s Experience with Battering; women were asked to name their three most recent adult intimate (heterosexual or homosexual) partners. They answered the WEB questions (with a range from 1, strongly disagree, to 6, strongly agree) for each partner, and about the start and stop times of abuse, in order for us to determine the duration of abuse. BRFSS=Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. For each BRFSS question (yes or no), women were first asked if the abuse occurred ever, and then whether the abuse occurred in the past 5 years and in the past year. More Details: http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/us/2007/ViolenceWomen.doc.pdf