Abstract
BackgroundAbuse against the elderly is recognized as an important challenge to elderly health, but its determinants are not yet well understood. We present findings from a new dataset which covers a representative sample of the population aged 60 years and above from seven Indian states across India – all of which have a higher proportion aged 60 plus compared to the national average. Earlier studies suggest that schooling levels can be relevant in determining the level of abuse against seniors. This study focuses on the role of education on the prevalence of elderly abuse in India.MethodsWe conduct an analysis of cross sectional primary data that contains information on elderly abuse. The households in the sample were randomly selected from the seven demographically oldest states in India. These states are Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. A total of 9852 elderly from 8329 households were interviewed. The statistical analysis is based on logistic regression to understand the independent relation of education with abuse against the elderly.ResultsOur findings reveal that 11% of 60+ year olds have experienced at least one type of elderly abuse (Physical 5.3%, Verbal 10.2%, Economic 5.4%, Disrespect 6%, Neglect 5.2%). The most common perpetrator is the son, who is reported to be responsible for the abuse among 41% of male victims and 43% of female victims. Formal education among elderly beyond a certain level (8 years) has a strong relation with reduced violence against elderly.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that level of schooling among elderly is strongly negatively related to abuse against them. More members in the household reduces the chance of abuse while having a greater number of children increases the chance of abuse (neglect and verbal abuse). We find that education even after controlling for wealth and other relevant variables is the factor that most consistently lowers elderly abuse. However, the relation of education to abuse is limited to those with more than 8 years of schooling. This suggests that the ongoing educational expansion beyond the basic schooling years in India may lead to a decline in the incidence of elderly abuse.
Highlights
Abuse against the elderly is recognized as an important challenge to elderly health, but its determinants are not yet well understood
We present findings from a new dataset [6] which covers a representative sample of the population aged 60 years and above from seven Indian states across India – all of which have a higher proportion aged 60 years and above compared to the national average
We find that 11% of 60+ year olds are subject to elderly abuse, which would equal a number of about 10 million victims in India in this age group for India as a whole, assuming that the findings from the seven states are nationally representative
Summary
Abuse against the elderly is recognized as an important challenge to elderly health, but its determinants are not yet well understood. A lack of formal education has been shown to be related to a greater risk of elderly abuse [1]. This is important in the Indian setting as education levels of older Indians are very low; it has been estimated that 73% of persons above 60 in India are illiterate [2]. In India, schooling policies of the 20th century were more focused on creating a relatively small number of elite schooling institutions while universal, or even majority, school coverage was not achieved This implies that large shares of the currently older population have little or zero formal schooling, while a minority has relatively long schooling. School levels can be an important determinant of elderly welfare decades later, including abuse against elderly
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