Socio-Eonomic Status of Elderly of Bangladesh: A Statistical Analysis M. Taj Uddin, Md. Narul !slam, Md. "ohurul Alam and #ias Uddin Baher ABST$A%T The &res ent study 'as underta(en to gather o) erall infor mation on socio-economic and health &ro*les of the senior citiens of Bangladesh +ased on &rimary data of from the three selected districts of the country. Sim&le statistical tools and logistic regression model are used to analye the data. The analysis sho's that of the &hysically sound elderly are jo+less and /0aren1t engaged in jo+ due to lac( of &hysical *tness and other causes. The logistic regression analysis re)eals that res&ondents1 age, le)el of education, &hysical *tness are signi*cantly associated 'ith the current occu&ation of elderly &eo&le. Ser)ices $elated Articles in AS%! Similar Articles in this "ournal Search in #oogle Scholar 2ie' %itation $e&ort %itation 3o' to cite this article: M. Taj Uddin, Md. Narul !slam, Md. "ohurul Alam and #ias Uddin Baher, 45/5. Socio- Eonomic Status of Elderly of Bangladesh: A Statistical Analysis. "ournal of A&&lied Sciences, /5: 655-657. 89!: /5.646;jas .45/5.655.657
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According to UN +y the year 4540 the total num+er of elderly &eo&le in the 'orld
'ill reach at /455 million, 'hich indicates that +y this time /0 of the total
&o&ulations 'ill reach 5 year or more UN, /7. UN also stated that the 'orld is
eC&eriencing an age-Dua(e. E)ery month, one million &eo&le reach at 5 years of
age. !n / there 'ere 06 million elderly &eo&le in the 'orld and this *gure 'ill
+e tri&le to nearly 4 +illions +y the year 4505 UN, /. !t is true that the num+er
of elderly &eo&le is increasing ra&idly in the de)elo&ed countries +ut it is alsoincreasing in the de)elo&ing countries 'ith a great s&eed. More than half of the
'orld1s older &o&ulation li)es in de)elo&ing countries UN@A, 4554. !n fact, the
num+er of elderly &eo&le is increasing day +y day in a )ery alarming rate. !n the
USA, there are a lot of care ser)ices for their elderly &eo&le. There are old homes,
day-care centers and elderly societies for elderly &eo&le. E+erstadt /7 found
that &o&ulation aging is a great challenge for the health care systems as nation1s
age, the &re)alence of disa+ility, frailty and chronic diseases, Alheimer1s disease,
cancer and many other diseases is eC&ected to increase dramatically. $ush 455
found that the incidence of lifestyle diseases increases among the elderly &eo&le
o)er the 'hole 'orld 'hich is not a sudden onset &henomenon +ut an accumulation
of changes in the eC&ression of genes in res&onse to nutrition and en)ironment from
conce&tion.
!n Bangladesh, o)er the &ast decade there has +een a signi*cant decline in infant
and child mortality rate. %ontrol and &re)ention of diseases, such as measles,
&oliomyelitis and di&htheria along 'ith eCtensi)e use of oral saline for diarrheal
diseases ha)e greatly reduced childhood mortality, Bangladesh is on the margin of
@olio eradication and has already achie)ed the elimination goal for le&rosy at the
national le)el. Fa+ir /G7, / found that in &oor families, +oth in rural and
ur+an areas, older &eo&le often una+le to meet the demand due to eCtreme &o)erty
'here food is the to& &riority needs. !smail 3ossain et al. 455 found that aged
&eo&le in Bangladesh are mostly suHered from )arious com&licated &hysical
diseases and the num+er is increasing day +y day +ut the ser)ices &ro)ided through
go)ernment hos&itals are inadeDuate in com&are to needs. A small &ro&ortion
around of the total &o&ulation of Bangladesh constitutes the elderly
&o&ulation, +ut the a+solute num+er of them is Duite signi*cant a+out 7.4 million
Bio-demogra&hic characteristics of the elderly: This &art of the study aimed to
gather the +asic data a+out res&ondent1s age, gender, religion, marital status Ta+le
A/ in the a&&endiC. Majority of the res&ondents are in the age grou& -0
follo'ed +y age grou& 0- and 75 and a+o)e. Among the res&ondents 76.6
'ere male and 4.6 'ere female. This *nding of the seC distri+ution of the elderly
su&&orts the 'or( of 3ossain 455 'here he o+ser)ed that female elderly 'eremuch lo'er than that of male. This may +e due to un&aid family la+or and seC
discrimination of healthcare and food consum&tion, more female &o&ulation in the
study area died than that of male. Among the three hundred res&ondents GG.6 of
them are Muslim, /5 'ere 3indu. A+out G0 elderly 'ere married and a )ery fe'
/ 'ere di)orced. The remarriage rate of the elderly is higher at Mymensingh
than other t'o districts. !n Bangladesh older &eo&le-including married cou&les-
traditionally li(e to li)e 'ith their sons. A )ast majority of older &eo&le 06 li(e to
li)e in joint or eCtended families Fhan et al., 455. Among the 655 elderly &eo&le
in the study sites 06.7, 66.6 and /6 of them are li)ing in joint, unitary and
eCtended res&ecti)ely. Most of the family 6.6 has the total mem+er +et'een
three and *)e and only /.7 of them ha)e u& to t'o mem+ers. !t 'as o+ser)ed
that res&ondents of these three study sites in res&ect of le)el of loo(ing after family
among them 'ere found that still they are a+le to su&er)ise their family and in
0.6 cases son of the elderly &eo&le lead or ta(e care of their family. A )ery fe'
cases 4.6 daughter ta(e care of their family. !t 'as o+ser)ed that among the
three study sites G5 res&ondents has num+er of son not more than three in the
total sam&le 'here only of the res&ondents 'ere found 'ith ha)ing num+er of
sons siC or more. A+out G res&ondents ha)e num+er of daughters not more than
three.
Socio-economic characteristics of elderly: This &art of the sur)ey in)estigated the
res&ondent1s income, eC&enditure, le)el of education, occu&ation, sanitation etc.
Ta+le A4 in the a&&endiC. Most of the elderly &eo&le in Bangladesh li)e in rural
areas 'here health and recreation facilities are )ery limited. The majority of them
are illiterate? economic facilities and jo+ o&&ortunities are limited. More than half of
the elderly are 'ido'ed, di)orced or single. A large &ro&ortion of elderly men are
still in la+or force +oth in rural and ur+an areas A+edin, /.
The results sho'ed that among the three study sites 'ith res&ect to le)el of
education, a+out 65 of elderly 'ere found educated u& to S.S.%. 'here G of
them 'ere found that they 'ere a+le to read only the religious +oo(s the 3oly
Ruaran, the #eta etc. 3ence, it also sho'ed that among three hundred elderly
res&ondents 0 of them 'ere illiterate. !n this study, it is found that 66 of them
'ere their &re)ious occu&ation 'as agriculture 'hereas, a )ery fe' of them 'ere
continue some sort of jo+ than that 'ith not good health status. The elderly, ha)ing
dia+etes, are /.0 times more li(ely to in)ol)e 'ith some sort of jo+ than those of
suHering from heart diseases. !t 'as also found that elderly &eo&le 'ho are
suHering from other (ind of diseases high &ressure, lo' &ressure and digestion
&ro+lem are /.7 times more li(ely to ha)e some sort of jo+ than those 'ho are
suHering from heart diseases. So, there is a signi*cant association +et'een currentoccu&ation and ty&e of &hysical &ro+lems of the res&ondents. Again, there is a
&ositi)e association +et'een +earing medical cost of the elderly +y their oHs&ring
and current occu&ation of them.
%9N%<US!9N
This study is an attem&t to o+tain a +etter understanding a+out socio-economic and
health status of the elderly &eo&le. 2arious socio-economic and +io-demogra&hic
characteristics that are related to the elderly &eo&le had +een studied in this study.
rom this study, it is found that age of the elderly, educational Duali*cation,
monthly income, &resent health status, &hysical &ro+lems are statistically
signi*cant 'ith their occu&ational status. Majority of the elderly are 'ithout ha)ing
any jo+. or the +etterment of the socio-economic status of the elderly some
initiati)es should +e started. At *rst, to ensure the *nancial sol)ency of the elderly
&eo&le, &ro&er regulations should +e de)elo&ed to encourage their oHs&ring so that
they could hel& their &arents much more. Secondly, em&loyment o&&ortunity should
+e made for the elderly &eo&le according to their &hysical and mental *tness,
educational Duali*cation, needs and &references. Thirdly, elderly &eo&le mostlysuHer from some &hysical illness and they need com&rehensi)e medical care
ser)ices. So, se&arate 'ard or unit in a hos&ital or clinic need to esta+lish for elderly
&eo&le. inally, &oor elderly &eo&le should +e in)ol)ed in the de)elo&ment and
im&lementation of &rograms and &olicies according to their minimum needs. Since,
the data does not re&resent the 'hole Bangladesh, generaliation of the *ndings
and recommendations are ris(y. A com&rehensi)e study is needed to eC&lore the
eCact status of the elderly, their needs and &ro&er recommendation for their 'ell
+eing.
A@@EN8!O
Ta+le A/: @ercentage distri+ution of +io-demogra&hic characteristics of the
/5 <ac( of @re&aredness for old age @re&aredness for old age
EDuity !ssues are rele)ant to all the a+o)e
ailing 3ealth
!t has +een said that P'e start dying the day 'e are +ornQ. The aging &rocess is
synonymous 'ith failing health. hile death in young &eo&le in countries such as
!ndia is mainly due to infectious diseases, older &eo&le are mostly )ulnera+le tonon-communica+le diseases. ailing health due to ad)ancing age is com&licated +y
non-a)aila+ility to good Duality, age-sensiti)e, health care for a large &ro&ortion of
older &ersons in the country. !n addition, &oor accessi+ility and reach, lac( of
information and (no'ledge and;or high costs of disease management ma(e
reasona+le elder care +eyond the reach of older &ersons, es&ecially those 'ho are
&oor and disad)antaged.
To address the issue of failing health, it is of &rime im&ortance that good Duality
health care +e made a)aila+le and accessi+le to the elderly in an age-sensiti)emanner. 3ealth ser)ices should address &re)enti)e measures (ee&ing in mind the
diseases that aHect Y or are li(ely to aHect Y the communities in a &articular
geogra&hical region. !n addition, eHecti)e care and su&&ort is reDuired for those
elderly suHering from )arious diseases through &rimary, secondary and tertiary
health care systems. The cost to the aHected elderly indi)idual or family of health
has to +e addressed so that no &erson is denied necessary health care for *nancial
reasons. $eha+ilitation, community or home +ased disa+ility su&&ort and end-of-life
care should also +e &ro)ided 'here needed, in a holistic manner, to eHecti)ely
address the issue to failing health among the elderly.
The &ro+lem of economic insecurity is faced +y the elderly 'hen they are una+le to
sustain themsel)es *nancially. Many older &ersons either lac( the o&&ortunity
and;or the ca&acity to +e as &roducti)e as they 'ere. !ncreasing com&etition from
younger &eo&le, indi)idual, family and societal mind sets, chronic malnutrition and
slo'ing &hysical and mental faculties, limited access to resources and lac( of
a'areness of their rights and entitlements &lay signi*cant roles in reducing thea+ility of the elderly to remain *nancially &roducti)e, and there+y, inde&endent.
Economic security is as rele)ant for the elderly as it is for those of any other age
grou&. Those 'ho are una+le to generate an adeDuate income should +e facilitated
to do so. As far as &ossi+le, elderly 'ho are ca&a+le, should +e encouraged, and if
necessary, su&&orted to +e engaged in some economically &roducti)e manner.
9thers 'ho are inca&a+le of su&&orting themsel)es should +e &ro)ided 'ith &artial
or full social 'elfare grants that at least &ro)ide for their +asic needs. amilies and
communities may +e encouraged to su&&ort the elderly li)ing 'ith them throughcounseling and local self-go)ernance.
!solation
!solation, or a dee& sense of loneliness, is a common com&laint of many elderly is
the feeling of +eing isolated. hile there are a fe' 'ho im&ose it on themsel)es,isolation is most often im&osed &ur&osefully or inad)ertently +y the families and;or
communities 'here the elderly li)e. !solation is a terri+le feeling that, if not
addressed, leads to tragic deterioration of the Duality of life.
!t is im&ortant that the elderly feel included in the goings-on around them, +oth in
the family as 'ell as in society. Those in)ol)ed in elder care, es&ecially N#9s in the
*eld, can &lay a signi*cant role in facilitating this through counseling of the
indi)idual, of families, sensitiation of community leaders and grou& a'areness or
grou& counseling sessions. Acti)ities centered on older &ersons that in)ol)e theirtime and s(ills hel& to inculcate a feeling of inclusion. Some of these could also +e
directly useful for the families and the communities.
The elderly, es&ecially those 'ho are 'ea( and;or de&endent, reDuire &hysical,
mental and emotional care and su&&ort. hen this is not &ro)ided, they suHer from
neglect, a &ro+lem that occurs 'hen a &erson is left uncared for and that is often
lin(ed 'ith isolation. %hanging lifestyles and )alues, demanding jo+s, distractionssuch as tele)ision, a shift to nuclear family structures and rede*ned &riorities ha)e
led to increased neglect of the elderly +y families and communities. This is
'orsened as the elderly are less li(ely to demand attention than those of other age
grou&s.
The +est 'ay to address neglect of the elderly is to counsel families, sensitise
community leaders and address the issue at all le)els in diHerent forums, including
the &rint and audio-)isual media. Schools and 'or( &laces oHer o&&ortunities 'here
younger generations can +e addressed in grou&s. #o)ernment and non-go)ernmentagencies need to ta(e this issue u& seriously at all these le)els. !n eCtreme
situations, legal action and reha+ilitation may +e reDuired to reduce or &re)ent the
serious conseDuences of the &ro+lem.
A+use
The elderly are highly )ulnera+le to a+use, 'here a &erson is 'illfully or
inad)ertently harmed, usually +y someone 'ho is &art of the family or other'iseclose to the )ictim. !t is )ery im&ortant that ste&s +e ta(en, 'hene)er and 'here)er
&ossi+le, to &rotect &eo&le from a+use. Being relati)ely 'ea(, elderly are )ulnera+le
to &hysical a+use. Their resources, including *nances ones are also often misused.
!n addition, the elderly may suHer from emotional and mental a+use for )arious
reasons and in diHerent 'ays.
The +est form of &rotection from a+use is to &re)ent it. This should +e carried out
through a'areness generation in families and in the communities. !n most cases,
a+use is carried out as a result of some frustration and the felt need to inJict &ainand misery on others. !t is also done to em&hasie authority. !nformation and
education of grou&s of &eo&le from younger generations is necessary to hel&
&re)ent a+use. The elderly should also +e made a'are of their rights in this regard.
9ld age is a &eriod of &hysical decline. E)en if one does not +ecome sans eyes, sans
teeth, sans e)erything, right a'ay, one does +egin to slo' do'n &hysically. The
&hysical condition de&ends &artly u&on hereditary constitution, the manner of li)ing
and en)ironmental factors. 2icissitudes of li)ing, faulty diet, malnutrition, infectious,
intoCications, gluttony, inadeDuate rest, emotional stress, o)er'or(, endocrinedisorders and en)ironmental conditions li(e heat and cold are some of the common
secondary causes of &hysical decline.
8ue to the loss of teeth, the ja' +ecomes smaller and the s(in sags. The chee(s
+ecome &endulous 'ith 'rin(les and the eye lids +ecome +aggy 'ith u&&er lids
o)er hanging the lo'er. The eyes seem dull and lustreless and they often ha)e a
'atery loo( due to the &oor functioning of the tear glands. <oss of dentures aHect
s&eech and some e)en a&&ear to lis&.
The s(in +ecomes rough and looses its elasticity. rin(les are formed and the )eins
sho' out &rominently on the s(in. @ers&iration is less &rofuse and other s(in
&igmentation a&&ears as the age ad)ances. The hair +ecomes thin and grey, nails
+ecome thic( and tough. Tremors of the hands, forearms, head and lo'er ja' are
<oss of s&ouse during old age is another haard. 8eath of a s&ouse creates a feeling
of loneliness and isolation. The negligence and indiHerent attitude of the family
mem+ers to'ards the older &eo&le creates more emotional &ro+lems.
. Social @ro+lems:
9lder &eo&le suHer social losses greatly 'ith age. Their social life is narro'ed do'n
+y loss of 'or( associated, death of relati)es, friends and s&ouse and 'ea( health
'hich restricts their &artici&ation in social acti)ities. The home +ecomes the centre
of their social life 'hich gets con*ned to the inter&ersonal relationshi& 'ith the
family mem+ers. 8ue to loss of most of the social roles they once &erformed, they
are li(ely to +e lonely and isolated se)ere chromic health &ro+lem ena+le them to
+ecome socially isolated 'hich results in loneliness and de&ression.
0. inancial @ro+lem:
$etirement from ser)ice usually results in loss of income and the &ensions that the
elderly recei)e are usually inadeDuate to meet the cost of li)ing 'hich is al'ays on
the rise. ith the reduced income they are re)ersed from the state of P%hief +read
'inner to a mere de&endentQ though they s&end their &ro)ident fund on marriages
of children, acDuiring ne' &ro&erty, education of children and family maintenance. The diagnosis and treatment of their disease created more *nancial &ro+lem for old
age.
9ld age is a &eriod of &hysical deterioration and social alienation in some cases,
loss of s&ouse, friends, "o+, &ro&erty and &hysical a&&earance. !n old age &hysical
national &o)erty rate among the elderly had risen to / &ercent +y 45/5 Ur+an
!nstitute and Faiser %ommission 45/5.
Before the recession hit, 'hat had changed to cause a reduction in &o)erty among
the elderly= hat social &atterns contri+uted to the shift= or se)eral decades, a
greater num+er of 'omen joined the 'or(force. More married cou&les earneddou+le incomes during their 'or(ing years and sa)ed more money for their
retirement. @ri)ate em&loyers and go)ernments +egan oHering +etter retirement
&rograms. By /5, senior citiens re&orted earning 6 &ercent more income on
a)erage than they did in /G5? that 'as *)e times the rate of increase for &eo&le
under age 60 U.S. %ensus Bureau 455.
!n addition, many &eo&le 'ere gaining access to +etter health care. Ne' trends
encouraged &eo&le to li)e more healthful lifestyles, &lacing an em&hasis on eCercise
and nutrition. There 'as also greater access to information a+out the health ris(s of
+eha)iors such as cigarette smo(ing, alcohol consum&tion, and drug use. Because
they 'ere healthier, many older &eo&le continue to 'or( &ast the ty&ical retirementage, &ro)iding more o&&ortunity to sa)e for retirement. ill these &atterns return
once the recession ends= Sociologists 'ill +e 'atching to see. !n the meantime, they
are realiing the immediate im&act of the recession on elderly &o)erty.
8uring the recession, older &eo&le lost some of the *nancial ad)antages that they1d
gained in the /G5s and /5s. rom 9cto+er 4557 to 9cto+er 455 the )alues of
retirement accounts for &eo&le o)er age 05 lost /G &ercent of their )alue. The shar&
decline in the stoc( mar(et also forced many to delay their retirement
Administration on Aging 455.
Ageism
Are these street signs humorous or oHensi)e= hat shared assum&tions ma(e them
humorous= 9r is memory loss too serious to +e made fun of= @hoto courtesy of
Tum+le'eed;Jic(r
8ri)ing to the grocery store, @eter, 46, got stuc( +ehind a car on a four-lane main
artery through his city1s +usiness district. The s&eed limit 'as 60 miles &er hour,
and 'hile most dri)ers s&ed along at 5 to 0 m&h, the dri)er in front of him 'as
going the minimum s&eed. @eter ta&&ed on his horn. 3e tailgated the dri)er. inally,
@eter had a chance to &ass the car. 3e glanced o)er. Sure enough, @eter thought, a
gray-haired old man guilty of P8E,Q dri)ing 'hile elderly.
At the grocery store, @eter 'aited in the chec(out line +ehind an older 'oman. She
&aid for her groceries, lifted her +ags of food into her cart, and toddled to'ard the
eCit. @eter, guessing her to +e a+out G5, 'as reminded of his grandmother. 3e &aid
PNo, than( you. ! can get it myself,Q she said and marched oH to'ard her car.
@eter1s res&onses to +oth older &eo&le, the dri)er and the sho&&er, 'ere &rejudiced.
!n +oth cases, he made unfair assum&tions. 3e assumed the dri)er dro)e cautiously
sim&ly +ecause the man 'as a senior citien, and he assumed the sho&&er needed
hel& carrying her groceries just +ecause she 'as an older 'oman.
$es&onses li(e @eter1s to'ard older &eo&le are fairly common. 3e didn1t intend to
treat &eo&le diHerently +ased on &ersonal or cultural +iases, +ut he did. Ageism is
discrimination 'hen someone acts on a &rejudice +ased on age. 8r. $o+ert Butler
coined the term in /G, noting that ageism eCists in all cultures Bro'nell. Ageist
attitudes and +iases +ased on stereoty&es reduce elderly &eo&le to inferior or
limited &ositions.
Ageism can )ary in se)erity. @eter1s attitudes are &ro+a+ly seen as fairly mild, +ut
relating to the elderly in 'ays that are &atroniing can +e oHensi)e. hen ageism is
reJected in the 'or(&lace, in health care, and in assisted-li)ing facilities, the eHects
of discrimination can +e more se)ere. Ageism can ma(e older &eo&le fear losing a
jo+, feel dismissed +y a doctor, or feel a lac( of &o'er and control in their daily
li)ing situations.
!n early societies, the elderly 'ere res&ected and re)ered. Many &reindustrial
societies o+ser)ed gerontocracy, a ty&e of social structure 'herein the &o'er is
held +y a society1s oldest mem+ers. !n some countries today, the elderly still ha)e
inJuence and &o'er and their )ast (no'ledge is res&ected.
!n many modern nations, ho'e)er, industrialiation contri+uted to the diminishedsocial standing of the elderly. Today 'ealth, &o'er, and &restige are also held +y
those in younger age +rac(ets. The a)erage age of cor&orate eCecuti)es 'as 0 in
/G5. !n 455G, the a)erage age had lo'ered to 0 Stuart 455G. Some older
mem+ers of the 'or(force felt threatened +y this trend and gre' concerned that
younger em&loyees in higher le)el &ositions 'ould &ush them out of the jo+ mar(et.
$a&id ad)ancements in technology and media ha)e reDuired ne' s(ill sets that
older mem+ers of the 'or(force are less li(ely to ha)e.
%hanges ha&&ened not only in the 'or(&lace +ut also at home. !n agrarian
societies, a married cou&le cared for their aging &arents. The oldest mem+ers of the
family contri+uted to the household +y doing chores, coo(ing, and hel&ing 'ith child
care. As economies shifted from agrarian to industrial, younger generations mo)ed
to cities to 'or( in factories. The elderly +egan to +e seen as an eC&ensi)e +urden.
They did not ha)e the strength and stamina to 'or( outside the home. hat +egan
during industrialiation, a trend to'ard older &eo&le li)ing a&art from their gro'n
3o' &re)alent is elder a+use= T'o recent U.S. studies found that roughly / in /5
elderly &eo&le sur)eyed had suHered at least one form of elder a+use. Some social
researchers +elie)e elder a+use is underre&orted and that the num+er may +e
higher. The ris( of a+use also increases in &eo&le 'ith health issues such as
dementia Fohn and 2erhoe(-9ftedahl 45//. 9lder 'omen 'ere found to +e )ictims
of )er+al a+use more often than their male counter&arts.
!n Acierno1s study, 'hich included a sam&le of 0,777 res&ondents age 5 and older,
0.4 &ercent of res&ondents re&orted *nancial a+use, 0./ &ercent said they1d +een
neglected, and . endured emotional a+use Acierno 45/5. The &re)alence of
&hysical and seCual a+use 'as lo'er at /. and 5. &ercent, res&ecti)ely Acierno
45/5.
9ther studies ha)e focused on the caregi)ers to the elderly in an attem&t to
disco)er the causes of elder a+use. $esearchers identi*ed factors that increased the
li(elihood of caregi)ers &er&etrating a+use against those in their care. Those factors
include ineC&erience, ha)ing other demands such as jo+s for those 'ho 'eren1t&rofessionally em&loyed as caregi)ers, caring for children, li)ing full time 'ith the
de&endent elder, and eC&eriencing high stress, isolation, and lac( of su&&ort Fohn
and 2erhoe(-9ftedahl 45//.
A history of de&ression in the caregi)er 'as also found to increase the li(elihood of
elder a+use. Neglect 'as more li(ely 'hen care 'as &ro)ided +y &aid caregi)ers.
Many of the caregi)ers 'ho &hysically a+used elders 'ere themsel)es a+used\in
many cases, 'hen they 'ere children. amily mem+ers 'ith some sort of
de&endency on the elder in their care 'ere more li(ely to &hysically a+use that
elder. or eCam&le, an adult child caring for an elderly &arent 'hile, at the same
time, de&ending on some form of income from that &arent, 'ould +e consideredmore li(ely to &er&etrate &hysical a+use Fohn and 2erhoe(-9ftedahl 45//.
A sur)ey in lorida found that 5./ &ercent of caregi)ers re&orted )er+al aggression
as a style of conJict resolution. @aid caregi)ers in nursing homes 'ere at a high ris(
of +ecoming a+usi)e if they had lo' jo+ satisfaction, treated the elderly li(e
children, or felt +urnt out Fohn and 2erhoe(-9ftedahl 45//. %aregi)ers 'ho tended
to +e )er+ally a+usi)e 'ere found to ha)e had less training, lo'er education, and
higher li(elihood of de&ression or other &sychiatric disorders. Based on the results
of these studies, many housing facilities for seniors ha)e increased their screening
&rocedures for caregi)er a&&licants.
9$<8 A$ !! 2ETE$ANS
orld ar !! //Y/0 )eterans and mem+ers of an 3onor light from Mil'au(ee,
isconsin, )isit the National orld ar !! Memorial in ashington, 8.%. Most of