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A Qualitative Research: Postmenopausal Women's Experiences of Abuse
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 57 – 60
World Conference on Psychology and Sociology 2012
A Qualitative Research: Postmenopausal Women Experiences of Abuse Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari a*, Mozhgan Azimi Hashemi b, Fahimeh Rashidi Fakari c a
Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University, Doctora Crass-road, Ebn-sina Avenu, Mashhad, 9137913199, Iran b Research center of human-social sciences, Shariati collection, Mashhad University, Mashhad, 9177949367, Iran c Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, North Khorasan University, Talghani13, Bojnord, 94149-74877, Iran
Abstract Elder abuse as one of the types of domestic violence is increasing in the recent two decades. Participants of this qualitative heir daily experiences of cognitive study were 13 women at abuse were collected by the use of open interviews. Six main themes were obtained, which are financial abuse, physical and psychological abuse, not being independent, lack of interest, low attention, the expectation for estimated daily needs. We can develop strategies for preventing and improving misbehaviour against postmenopausal women by recognizing the related factors. 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Keywords: Misbehavior, Postmenopausal, Experience, Violence, Elder Abuse.
1. Introduction Aging is not a disease but it is an inevitable biological process that involves all living beings and in some cases is associated with unpleasant experiences (Soltani, 2008). The term lderly generally refers to as any , in 2000 there were 600 million elderly people in the world which will be increased to 1/2 billion in 2025. A census in 1997 showed that 62.6% of Iran's population of people 60 years and older that in the last general census of 2006 this rate was increased by 26.7% (Kakhki, 2010). The increasing trend of elderly population is one of the health challenges (Heravi, 2010), increase of the population of the elderly tends to negative effects on the body and mind, economic pressures, irresponsibility, fatigue, personal and social isolation from family members and thus increase the incidence of anti-social behavior and violence (Panaghi, 2009). One form of domestic violence is abuse or elder abuse which rate has been increased in the last two decades. A research by Manouchehri et al. (2008) showed that 87.8% of seniors have at least one type abusive behavior. Misbehavior against elderly people * Corresponding author: Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari. Tel.: +989158897334 E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.224
58
Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 57 – 60
in home is estimated by 4 to 6% (Manoochehri, 2008), elder abuse is in dead to do or not to do a particular behavior against somebody whether intentional or unintentional which may be physical, psychological, emotional and may lead to physical, mental, injury or damage human rights violation and decreased quality of life for the elderly (Heravi, 2011). Swearing, ridicule, blame, verbal disrespect, harassment, threats, and sent them to the home the usual loneliness of elderly people, depriving them of contact with their loved ones, preventing them from visiting their children and grand children and paying no attention to their needs and elderly needs are considered to be elder abuse (Sadeghi, 2010). The misbehaviors may be, either at home or in residential aged care facilities against the elderly (Heravi, 2011). In general, elderly women are more abused than elderly men in many communities, an elder women is referred to as a person who has had lost her happiness and her social role is decreased. Misbehavior against elder women is often hidden and long-term (Rejeh, 2010). Misbehavior of women is a major risk for health and causes long/short-term health problems, including mental illnesses. Research has shown that treatment costs of these problems is even more than those of other causes of women refers to the medicines. Violence against women is a social issue. Many elder women can't defend themselves against this misbehavior and in many cases elder abuse remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences of elder women. 2. Methods The current work is a qualitative descriptive phenomenological study. This study seeks to describe daily life experience just in the same way they occurred in reality. Inclusion criterion in this study was the ability to speak in Persian. In order to collect information the open interview about daily experiences of abuse and persecution was used. Interview was carried out by questions such as "What does it mean, explain" during a meeting of about 35 to 45 minutes, according to the participants willing. The researcher interviewed 13 participants. The researcher transcribed the recorded information and afterwards listened to them several times. Then after reading carefully each hand written data to understand it completely, the interview was analyzed by the use of holistic methods of analysis. 3. Results The mean age of study participants was 62 years, 6 of them had no literacy, 4 had diploma and 3 had higher degrees of education. The participants were housewives at the moment of study, were employed in the past (Table 1). After analysis of experiences of the participants, six main themes were extracted as follows: 1. Financial abuse: The property, not to give the money to afford life expenses 2. Psychotic / physical abuse: Physical: hitting, pulling hair Psychological dimension: - Verbal - Threat 3. Depriving of their interest: Visiting children Being trapped Isolation from the community 4. Independence 5. Lack of attention: - Lack of attention to their physical presence - Lack of attention to their daily needs 6. Expectation to meet needs: - Keep them waiting for the medical needs, daily needs
Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 57 – 60
4. Discussion Financial elder abuse In the present study, all participants were suffering from varying degrees of financial abuse and even people who have incomes access to their own income at their disposal. In the study of Manouchehri et al. (2008), where authors studied the elderly home abuse of elders attending the parks of Tehran, the 40.1% of elderly people had experiences of financial abuse. In a qualitative study on the independence by Darvishpour et al. (2010), all seniors have claimed the degrees of financial dependence. Physical abuse, psychological abuse Table 1. Quote original theme Quote Instead of supporting me and afford my life costs, they take my only little capital. My sons follow just their wives, without paying attention to their mother Me and my children live together but none of The family members pay attention to me (despite of living with my children, I feel alone) Expect for your husband, no body pay attention to you(after he has died, I has been really alone) My husband always thinks to himself that I'm his slave and he has beaten since the first days of our life until now that I'm elderly My daughter-in-law don't permit me to visit my grandchildren During the week, I should keep waiting for someone to get me to the doctor My son and his wife just accompany me to the doctor and I can't be out without them even for one hour I have to remind my husband regularly to give me money, to remind him that I need money to do something buy something that I want I can't say anything about my body pains because they will reply quickly: "Oh, yes, it's normal: you are elderly, so you should have pain". Be you are elderly so it's better for you to stay at home and watch TV Although I'm an experienced (elderly) person I have to take permission to go out I can't speak with limberly at home, nobody wants listen to me and my speeches My husband is elder than me and he is very nervous, so I can't speak to him: if I say something, he would reply to me by insulting
The main themes Financial Little attention Little attention Little attention Little attention Denial of Interests Little attention Lack of independence Hope Little attention Denial of Interests Lack of independence Little attention Verbal
The majority of participants have experienced physical and psychological (verbal abuse). Karimi et al. (2008) conducted a study on elder abuse in Ahwaz. They found that 10.5% of participants have experienced physical abuse, harassment, 16.9% emotional abuse, from which 15% was verbal and 1.9% non-verbal. Little attention The research units reported the lack of attention to their presence, to their views, opinions and needs of everyday healthcare and daily needs. In the study of Don Kin Gi et al. (2007) in China, the most common type of abuse was neglect and inattention.
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Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 57 – 60
Independence Most of the subjects reported negative experiences in the areas of property, socializing, visiting friends, relatives and relations with others and going out. Darvishpoor et al. (2010) focused on the elderly independence, independence in life, financial issues. Expectation to meet demands The majority of participants claimed an inability and lack of desire to work with others to address their traumatic experience. 5. Conclusion Regarding to increasing trend of life expectancy and elderly population, having no source of income, suffering from disabling diseases, high treatment and healthcare costs, more psychological problems of elderly women compared to men and the difficulties of staying widowed (and not marry) after husband death, one can say that the elderly women are the silent victims of misbehaviour. This study results in finding out six main fields of misbehaviour against elderly women: financial and psycho-physical abuse, depriving them from their interests, lack of independency, expectation to fulfill the needs and little attention. The results of this study provided us with a clear image of misbehaviour experiences of elderly women which can be used to improve management programs and preventive plans for misbehaviour and elderly abuse. Acknowledgment Thanks to all elder women who have participated in the full study and to my good friend Maryam Naseri who cooperates in the writing of this article. References Darvishpoor, K. A., Abed Saeedi, J., Delavar, A., & Saeed-O-Zakerin, M. (2010). Autonomy in the elderly: A phenomenological study. Hakim Research Journal, 12(4), 1- 10. Heravi, M., & Blaze, M. (2010). Exploring the experiences of women hospitalized older phenomenon of sleep and its disorders, a qualitative study. Journal of Aging, 5(15), 710-720. Heravi, M., Blaze, M., Sheikhi, M. T., & Hajj Yzadh, I. (2011). Psychometric questionnaire designed Elder Abuse in the family. Journal of Aging, 15(15), 7-21. Manoochehri, H., Gharbi, B., Hosseini, M., Nasiri, N., & Karbakhsh, M. (2008). Different types and degrees of misbehaviours against elderly attending Tehran parks. Shahid Beheshti Journal, 18(62), 37-44. Panaghi, L., Abarshy, V., Mansouri, N., & Dehghani, M. (2009). Quality of life and demographic characteristics associated with the elderly in Tehran. Journal of Aging, 4(12), 77. Rejeh, N., Heravi-Karimooi, M., & Foroughan, M (2010). An exploration into the lived experiences of the hospitalized older women of sleep phenomenon and its disturbance: A qualitative study. Scientific-Research Journal of Shahed University, 17(86). Sadeghi, S. (2010). Domestic violence and women's strategies encountering it. Iranian Journal of Social, 1, 2-36. Soltani, R. P., & Parsa, S. (2008). Motherhood and childhood health. Publications Measuring.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 57 – 60
World Conference on Psychology and Sociology 2012
A Qualitative Research: Postmenopausal Women Experiences of Abuse Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari a*, Mozhgan Azimi Hashemi b, Fahimeh Rashidi Fakari c a
Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University, Doctora Crass-road, Ebn-sina Avenu, Mashhad, 9137913199, Iran b Research center of human-social sciences, Shariati collection, Mashhad University, Mashhad, 9177949367, Iran c Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, North Khorasan University, Talghani13, Bojnord, 94149-74877, Iran
Abstract Elder abuse as one of the types of domestic violence is increasing in the recent two decades. Participants of this qualitative heir daily experiences of cognitive study were 13 women at abuse were collected by the use of open interviews. Six main themes were obtained, which are financial abuse, physical and psychological abuse, not being independent, lack of interest, low attention, the expectation for estimated daily needs. We can develop strategies for preventing and improving misbehaviour against postmenopausal women by recognizing the related factors. 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Keywords: Misbehavior, Postmenopausal, Experience, Violence, Elder Abuse.
1. Introduction Aging is not a disease but it is an inevitable biological process that involves all living beings and in some cases is associated with unpleasant experiences (Soltani, 2008). The term lderly generally refers to as any , in 2000 there were 600 million elderly people in the world which will be increased to 1/2 billion in 2025. A census in 1997 showed that 62.6% of Iran's population of people 60 years and older that in the last general census of 2006 this rate was increased by 26.7% (Kakhki, 2010). The increasing trend of elderly population is one of the health challenges (Heravi, 2010), increase of the population of the elderly tends to negative effects on the body and mind, economic pressures, irresponsibility, fatigue, personal and social isolation from family members and thus increase the incidence of anti-social behavior and violence (Panaghi, 2009). One form of domestic violence is abuse or elder abuse which rate has been increased in the last two decades. A research by Manouchehri et al. (2008) showed that 87.8% of seniors have at least one type abusive behavior. Misbehavior against elderly people * Corresponding author: Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari. Tel.: +989158897334 E-mail address: [email protected]
1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.224
58
Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 57 – 60
in home is estimated by 4 to 6% (Manoochehri, 2008), elder abuse is in dead to do or not to do a particular behavior against somebody whether intentional or unintentional which may be physical, psychological, emotional and may lead to physical, mental, injury or damage human rights violation and decreased quality of life for the elderly (Heravi, 2011). Swearing, ridicule, blame, verbal disrespect, harassment, threats, and sent them to the home the usual loneliness of elderly people, depriving them of contact with their loved ones, preventing them from visiting their children and grand children and paying no attention to their needs and elderly needs are considered to be elder abuse (Sadeghi, 2010). The misbehaviors may be, either at home or in residential aged care facilities against the elderly (Heravi, 2011). In general, elderly women are more abused than elderly men in many communities, an elder women is referred to as a person who has had lost her happiness and her social role is decreased. Misbehavior against elder women is often hidden and long-term (Rejeh, 2010). Misbehavior of women is a major risk for health and causes long/short-term health problems, including mental illnesses. Research has shown that treatment costs of these problems is even more than those of other causes of women refers to the medicines. Violence against women is a social issue. Many elder women can't defend themselves against this misbehavior and in many cases elder abuse remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences of elder women. 2. Methods The current work is a qualitative descriptive phenomenological study. This study seeks to describe daily life experience just in the same way they occurred in reality. Inclusion criterion in this study was the ability to speak in Persian. In order to collect information the open interview about daily experiences of abuse and persecution was used. Interview was carried out by questions such as "What does it mean, explain" during a meeting of about 35 to 45 minutes, according to the participants willing. The researcher interviewed 13 participants. The researcher transcribed the recorded information and afterwards listened to them several times. Then after reading carefully each hand written data to understand it completely, the interview was analyzed by the use of holistic methods of analysis. 3. Results The mean age of study participants was 62 years, 6 of them had no literacy, 4 had diploma and 3 had higher degrees of education. The participants were housewives at the moment of study, were employed in the past (Table 1). After analysis of experiences of the participants, six main themes were extracted as follows: 1. Financial abuse: The property, not to give the money to afford life expenses 2. Psychotic / physical abuse: Physical: hitting, pulling hair Psychological dimension: - Verbal - Threat 3. Depriving of their interest: Visiting children Being trapped Isolation from the community 4. Independence 5. Lack of attention: - Lack of attention to their physical presence - Lack of attention to their daily needs 6. Expectation to meet needs: - Keep them waiting for the medical needs, daily needs
Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 57 – 60
4. Discussion Financial elder abuse In the present study, all participants were suffering from varying degrees of financial abuse and even people who have incomes access to their own income at their disposal. In the study of Manouchehri et al. (2008), where authors studied the elderly home abuse of elders attending the parks of Tehran, the 40.1% of elderly people had experiences of financial abuse. In a qualitative study on the independence by Darvishpour et al. (2010), all seniors have claimed the degrees of financial dependence. Physical abuse, psychological abuse Table 1. Quote original theme Quote Instead of supporting me and afford my life costs, they take my only little capital. My sons follow just their wives, without paying attention to their mother Me and my children live together but none of The family members pay attention to me (despite of living with my children, I feel alone) Expect for your husband, no body pay attention to you(after he has died, I has been really alone) My husband always thinks to himself that I'm his slave and he has beaten since the first days of our life until now that I'm elderly My daughter-in-law don't permit me to visit my grandchildren During the week, I should keep waiting for someone to get me to the doctor My son and his wife just accompany me to the doctor and I can't be out without them even for one hour I have to remind my husband regularly to give me money, to remind him that I need money to do something buy something that I want I can't say anything about my body pains because they will reply quickly: "Oh, yes, it's normal: you are elderly, so you should have pain". Be you are elderly so it's better for you to stay at home and watch TV Although I'm an experienced (elderly) person I have to take permission to go out I can't speak with limberly at home, nobody wants listen to me and my speeches My husband is elder than me and he is very nervous, so I can't speak to him: if I say something, he would reply to me by insulting
The main themes Financial Little attention Little attention Little attention Little attention Denial of Interests Little attention Lack of independence Hope Little attention Denial of Interests Lack of independence Little attention Verbal
The majority of participants have experienced physical and psychological (verbal abuse). Karimi et al. (2008) conducted a study on elder abuse in Ahwaz. They found that 10.5% of participants have experienced physical abuse, harassment, 16.9% emotional abuse, from which 15% was verbal and 1.9% non-verbal. Little attention The research units reported the lack of attention to their presence, to their views, opinions and needs of everyday healthcare and daily needs. In the study of Don Kin Gi et al. (2007) in China, the most common type of abuse was neglect and inattention.
59
60
Farzaneh Rashidi Fakari et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 57 – 60
Independence Most of the subjects reported negative experiences in the areas of property, socializing, visiting friends, relatives and relations with others and going out. Darvishpoor et al. (2010) focused on the elderly independence, independence in life, financial issues. Expectation to meet demands The majority of participants claimed an inability and lack of desire to work with others to address their traumatic experience. 5. Conclusion Regarding to increasing trend of life expectancy and elderly population, having no source of income, suffering from disabling diseases, high treatment and healthcare costs, more psychological problems of elderly women compared to men and the difficulties of staying widowed (and not marry) after husband death, one can say that the elderly women are the silent victims of misbehaviour. This study results in finding out six main fields of misbehaviour against elderly women: financial and psycho-physical abuse, depriving them from their interests, lack of independency, expectation to fulfill the needs and little attention. The results of this study provided us with a clear image of misbehaviour experiences of elderly women which can be used to improve management programs and preventive plans for misbehaviour and elderly abuse. Acknowledgment Thanks to all elder women who have participated in the full study and to my good friend Maryam Naseri who cooperates in the writing of this article. References Darvishpoor, K. A., Abed Saeedi, J., Delavar, A., & Saeed-O-Zakerin, M. (2010). Autonomy in the elderly: A phenomenological study. Hakim Research Journal, 12(4), 1- 10. Heravi, M., & Blaze, M. (2010). Exploring the experiences of women hospitalized older phenomenon of sleep and its disorders, a qualitative study. Journal of Aging, 5(15), 710-720. Heravi, M., Blaze, M., Sheikhi, M. T., & Hajj Yzadh, I. (2011). Psychometric questionnaire designed Elder Abuse in the family. Journal of Aging, 15(15), 7-21. Manoochehri, H., Gharbi, B., Hosseini, M., Nasiri, N., & Karbakhsh, M. (2008). Different types and degrees of misbehaviours against elderly attending Tehran parks. Shahid Beheshti Journal, 18(62), 37-44. Panaghi, L., Abarshy, V., Mansouri, N., & Dehghani, M. (2009). Quality of life and demographic characteristics associated with the elderly in Tehran. Journal of Aging, 4(12), 77. Rejeh, N., Heravi-Karimooi, M., & Foroughan, M (2010). An exploration into the lived experiences of the hospitalized older women of sleep phenomenon and its disturbance: A qualitative study. Scientific-Research Journal of Shahed University, 17(86). Sadeghi, S. (2010). Domestic violence and women's strategies encountering it. Iranian Journal of Social, 1, 2-36. Soltani, R. P., & Parsa, S. (2008). Motherhood and childhood health. Publications Measuring.