Quality of life of abused older women: moderating influence of coping mechanisms

In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) brought global attention to elder abuse and the need for prevention in issuing the Toronto Declaration (World Health Organization 2002a). With the rise in proportion of people aged 60 and over, but also the spectacular demographic projections for people aged 80 years and older (globally the number of persons aged 80 and over is expected to triple by 2050), how we age and how well we age is of great concern (United Nations 2015). Furthermore, there will be a growing need to protect the mostvulnerable older people from harm (World Health Organization 2002b). For the development of policies and interventions, more insight into this complex phenomenon is required. To our knowledge, little is known about how abused older people cope, and there is a gap in research regarding the influence of coping on the quality of life of abused older people. Therefore, the current chapter examines the effect of abuse on the quality of life of older women, and more specifically, the moderating effect of coping on the relationship between abuse and quality of life.