This article aims to explore the perpetrators of abuse among older women living in the community. The study examines whether differences between the perpetrators of different forms of abuse, and for different groups of older women (e.g. by income or age groups) can be detected. Finally, it aims to investigate whether older women talk about the abuse to family or friends, or report it to an official or formal agency, in relation to different perpetrators. This article provides results from the prevalence study of Abuse and Violence against Older Women in Europe (AVOW‐study). The study involved scientific partners from five EU countries: Finland, Austria, Belgium, Lithuania, and Portugal. In these five countries, the same study was conducted during 2010. In total, 2,880 older women living in the community were interviewed during the course of the study. The results indicate that 28.1per cent of older women across all countries have experienced some kind of violence and abuse, in the last 12 months, by someone who is close to them. The results offer specific figures for the prevalence of different types of abuse, i.e. physical, psychological, sexual, and financial abuse; violation of personal rights; and neglect. Furthermore, additional insights about the main perpetrators of abuse for different groups of older women are offered. The article does not address the differences between the five countries. Further research could examine the between‐country variations and identify possible country‐specific explanations. The implications of these findings for the development of policy and practice are highlighted. Applying only a crime‐focused approach on this topic is not sufficient. Health and social welfare sectors play a key role in ensuring dignity in, and quality of, formal and informal care and need to be supported to do so. The paper presents the findings of an extensive multi‐national survey on abuse of older women in five European countries.

This article examines the ecological risk factors of abuse against older women. Data from 2,880 older women were randomly collected in five European countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, Lithuania, and Portugal) using a standardized questionnaire. Results indicate that overall 30.1 % older women had at least one experience of abuse in the past year. The findings demonstrate that a single emphasis on personal risk factors (e.g., health, coping) is important but too simple: Abuse is multifaceted and is embedded in environmental (e.g., loneliness, household income) as well as macrocultural contexts (e.g., old age dependency ratio).

Some literature on elder abuse recommends, and practitioners claim, that there should be better assessment and screening tools. In order to improve the accuracy of measurement instruments, the purpose of this article is threefold: (a) describing the construction of an instrument with formative indicators and the survey design about the sensitive topic of elder abuse, (b) development of an analytic strategy to improve the precision of the measures by (c) evaluating the measurement instrument through quality criteria against outcomes of the instrument. We randomly selected 2,880 home-dwelling older women aged 60 and above from five European Union countries who participated in a survey on elder abuse. Prevalence data on abuse against older women was gathered using a postal (BE, FI, PT), face-to-face (BE, LT), and telephone survey (AT) but using an identical instrument. A table with outcome measures was calculated to evaluate the formative indicators of the measurement instrument, and a decision strategy for item reduction was developed. The results suggest that 12 (35%) of the original 34-indicators instrument can be omitted. The adapted version can provide the same elder abuse prevalence rates (reliability) with the same negative associations in terms of life quality (validity). The results indicate in an applied way how an elder abuse instrument can be evaluated and further developed using formative measures.

Background: Efficient actions to fight elder abuse are highly dependent on reliable dimensions of the phenomenon. Accurate measures are nevertheless difficult to achieve owing to the sensitivity of the topic. Different research endeavours indicate varying prevalence rates, which are explained by different research designs and definitions used, but little is known about measurement errors such as item non-responses and how outcomes are affected by modes of administration. Methods: A multi-national study was developed to measure domestic abuse against home-dwelling older women (aged >60 years) in Europe. The measurement instrument covered six forms of abuse, adapted from the Conflict Tactics Scale. 2880 individuals were interviewed by three different data collection methods (i.e. postal, face-to-face, telephone). Results: Principal component analysis of missing values of 34 indicators of abuse showed various patterns of item non-response. Moreover, principal component analysis indicated several response patterns across different types of data collection. A binary logistic regression explained that item non-response and abuse prevalence is influenced by individual characteristics (social status, vulnerability), method effects such as content (sensitivity), the order of the questions (forms of abuse), by type of data collection and the presence of assistance in survey completion. Conclusion: The discussion revolves around how these findings could help improving measuring elder abuse. Advantages and disadvantages of the questionnaire and type of data collection methods are discussed in relation to three potential types of response errors: item positioning effect, acquiescence and social desirability.