مقایسه توانایی‌های شناختی و بهزیستی هیجانی در سالمندان با و بدون تجربه آزاردیدگی

Elder abuse is a new type of domestic violence, which despite its high prevalence, its numerous consequences and psychological effects, receives less attention. Impairment in cognitive function and emotional health is found highly in older adults with experience of violence and abuse. Thus, the current study aimed to compare cognitive abilities (CAs) and emotional well-being (EWB) in older adults with and without experience of abuse. This was a causal-comparative study, of retrospective type. The statistical population included older men and women who referred to the retirement centers of Rasht, Iran in 2022-2023, among whom 164 people (72 with abuse experience and 92 without abuse experience) were selected using convenience sampling (based on the cut-off score of 4 in Hwalek-Sengstock’s elder abuse screening test and the elder abuse clinical interview). Data were collected using Nejati’s CAs questionnaire and Keyes and Magyar-Moe’s EWB scale. The Data were analyzed by Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) in SPSS-24 software. The results indicated that EWB and CAs (including memory, inhibitory control and selective attention, sustained attention, planning, decision making, cognitive flexibility) except for component of social cognition were lower in older adults with abuse experience in comparison to that of older adults without abuse experience (P<.001). These findings state that the experience of abuse has a destructive effect on CAs and EWB in older adults. Meanwhile, defects in CAs and EWB, as a risk factor, can provide the basis for elder abuse. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to these variables in the design of preventive programs to prevent elder abuse as much as possible or design appropriate protocols for every older individual with experience of abuse.
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
 Introduction
owadays, one of the most prevalent phenomena individuals face during old age is elder abuse. Studies have identified several variables associated with elder abuse, among which the most significant are cognitive abilities and emotional well-being. Research literature indicates that low levels of cognitive functioning and emotional health-related variables such as happiness and psychological well-being are frequently observed in older individuals who have experienced abuse. Such deficiencies in cognitive and emotional domains may have its roots in misbehaviors towards older adults. Additionally, it is possible that pre-existing deficiencies in mentioned variables have paved the way for mistreatments towards older adults. Although studies have introduced some predictor variables and their counterparts in older individuals with and without experiences of abuse, there are some contradictions in the findings of these studies. Moreover, addressing variables and components that have received less attention in previous studies appears essential. Besides, considering the role of these variables in designing appropriate preventive and therapeutic strategies concerning elder abuse, conducting this research was crucial. Therefore, given the existing gap in the research literature in this field of inquiry, the aim of the current study was to compare the cognitive abilities and emotional well-being in older individuals with and without experiences of abuse.
Method
The method of the present research was causal-comparative. The statistical population included older men and women who referred to the retirement centers of Rasht, Iran in 2022-2023, among whom 164 people (72 older adults with abuse experience and 92 older adults without abuse experience) were selected using convenience sampling as the research sample. Inclusion criteria were (1) age 65-74 years, (2) having at least a middle school degree, (3) informed consent, and the exclusion criteria were suffering from chronic physical and mental diseases such as Alzheimer’s, impaired consciousness, serious hearing and speech impairment. First, some explanations were given to older adults regarding the purpose of the research and confidentiality of information. After declaring their consent and readiness, participants completed the Hwalek-Sengstock’s elder abuse screening test, and older adults with a cut-off score of 4 were clinically interviewed in order to confirm the abuse as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria, and finally were assigned into two groups of older adults with and without experience of abuse. Then, both groups filled out the Nejati’s cognitive abilities questionnaire and the Keyes and Magyar-Moe’s emotional well-being scale. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) in SPSS-24 software.
Results
Before performing the data analysis, it was determined that the assumptions of normal distribution, homogeneity of variance and homogeneity of covariance were established. The results of Wilk’s Lambda test indicated that there is a significant difference between two groups of older adults with and without experience of abuse in terms of cognitive abilities (F=10.47, P<.001, Eta=.32) and emotional well-being (F=21.84, P<.001, Eta=.213). The results of MANOVA figured out that there is a significant difference between two groups of older adults with and without experience of abuse in terms of all components of cognitive ability such as memory (F=41.73, P<.001), inhibitory control and selective attention (F=52.54, P<.001), decision making (F=17.01, P<.001), planning (F=32.24, P<.001), sustained attention (F=24.45, P<.001) ), and cognitive flexibility (F=32.89, P<.001), except for the social cognition component (F=0.32, P>.05). As such, the cognitive abilities of older adults with experience of abuse was lower than that of older adults without experience of abuse. Moreover, the results of MANOVA illustrated that there is a significant difference between two groups of older adults with and without experience of abuse in terms of emotional well-being components such as positive emotion (F=30.92, P<.001) and negative emotion (F=35.44, P<.001). In this sense, the emotional well-being of older adults with experience of abuse was lower than that of older adults without experience of abuse. 
Conclusion
Due to its severity, cognitive impairment caused by aging increases the vulnerability of older people to all kinds of elder abuse through reducing their self-autonomy. Lower ability, especially in terms of decision-making, planning and cognitive flexibility, increases the risk of misbehavior towards older adults and becomes the basis for such situations. On the one hand, continuous exposure to different kinds of abuse can have a negative effect on the cognitive ability of older adults, especially in terms of memory, inhibitory control, selective attention and sustained attention of older adults. Meanwhile, the constant exposure of older adults to experiences of abuse has a negative effect on the emotional well-being of older adults, increasing the level of negative emotions in them and reducing the frequency of positive emotions. On the other hand, the high level of negative emotions and the low level of positive emotions in older adults increases their vulnerability to abuse. In fact, the low level of emotional well-being of older adults can increase their vulnerability to elder abuse by increasing dependence, inactivity, reducing the quality of interactions and communication status, and reducing the ability to cope with stress. It is suggested that the findings of this research in the field of the pathology of elder abuse and the design of appropriate preventive and interventive programs should be considered by experts works in this field of inquiry.
Ethical Consideration
Ethical Code
Code of ethics: This study was preregistered at the Vice-Chancellor for academic affairs and Graduate Education, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Gilan University, Iran.
Financial Support
 This study had no financial support.
Authors’ Contributions
 N.Z.B: Writing - original draft, conceptualization, data curation,resources, visualization, writing- review & editing; A.A: Methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, project administration; M.K: Project administration
Conflict of Interest
 The authors had no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgments
Appreciation are given to the participants and all those who paved the way for the implementation of the current research.
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