The effect of a family-based intervention with a cognitive-behavioral approach on elder abuse

ABSTRACT

Elder abuse may become a health issue in developing countries, including Iran. The purpose of this investigation was to study the effectiveness of Family-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Social Work (FBCBSW) in reducing elder abuse. In a randomized clinical trial in Iran, 27 elders participated in intervention and control groups. The intervention groups received a five-session FBCBSW intervention and completed the Domestic-Elder-Abuse-Questionnaire (DEAQ), which evaluates elder abuse at baseline and follow-ups. Repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Wilcoxon test were used to analyze the data. The repeated measures ANOVA revealed that FBCBSW was successful in reducing elder abuse. The Wilcoxon test indicated that emotional neglect, care neglect, financial neglect, curtailment of personal autonomy, psychological abuse, and financial abuse significantly decreased over time, but there was no statistically significant difference in physical abuse before and after the intervention. The findings from this study suggest that FBCBSW is a promising approach to reducing elder abuse and warrants further study with larger samples.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive behavioral intervention
• elder abuse
• exploratory
• family social work
• Iran

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Social Security Pensioners Club in Karaj for supporting the study. We would also like to thank all participants and their families who helped us during the study. We are grateful to Georgianna Dolan-Reilly and Victoria Brewster from Social Justice Solutions for helpful comments on the article.

Additional information

Funding

The trial is registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT: IRCT2014120420206N1). The University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences and Research Center on Aging (IRCA), Tehran, Iran, supported this trial.