a Department of Social Work , National University of Singapore , Singapore.
J Elder Abuse Negl. 2014;26(1):60-79. doi: 10.1080/08946566.2013.782786.
This qualitative study attempts to understand why older persons abused by their family members in India do not seek help. In-depth interviews over three visits were conducted with six adults aged 65 years and above who had been physically abused by their sons/daughters-in-law. The interviews were transcribed and themes identified using a thematic analysis method. The barriers preventing a person from seeking help were service-related (accessibility, lack of trust); religious (Karma); family (deleterious effects on family, family members' responses to help seeking); and individual (socioeconomic dependency, self-blame). The unique findings that surfaced were fear of losing one's identity by losing one's family, attributing abuse to past sins, and concern over not attaining salvation if one's sons did not perform funeral rites. The authors propose a checklist to explore and assess the barriers to seeking help. Recommendations for geroprofessionals in overcoming barriers include implementing outreach programs and changing the misconceptions regarding Karma.
这项定性研究试图了解印度受家庭成员虐待的老年人为何不寻求帮助。通过三次探访，对 6 名年龄在 65 岁及以上、曾遭受子女虐待的成年人进行了深入访谈。访谈内容被转录下来，并使用主题分析方法确定主题。阻碍人们寻求帮助的因素包括服务相关因素（可及性、缺乏信任）、宗教因素（因果报应）、家庭因素（对家庭的有害影响、家庭成员对寻求帮助的反应）和个人因素（社会经济依赖、自责）。出现的一些独特发现包括担心失去家庭而失去身份、将虐待归因于过去的罪孽，以及担心如果自己的儿子不举行葬礼，就无法获得救赎。作者提出了一份清单，以探索和评估寻求帮助的障碍。为克服障碍，老年专业人员提出了一些建议，包括实施外展计划和改变对因果报应的误解。
