Comparison of Depression and General Health among Victims of Domestic Violence among the elderly and their peers in Savojbolagh-Iran

Background and Objective: Old age is an inevitable stage of natural life cycle which has become a significant economic, social, and health challenge for most countries in 21st century due to the increasing population of the elderly. Considering the importance of mental health and its role in quality of life of the elderly, the aim of this study was to investigate depression and general health of victims of domestic violence among the elderly and compare it with their peers in Savojbolagh, Iran. Materials and Methods: This causal-comparative descriptive study was conducted in 2017 in Savojbolagh city, located in Alborz province, Iran. The study population included elderly people who were referred to rural and urban healthcare centers to receive healthcare services within the Primary Healthcare System. Participants were selected via convenience sampling method and included 150 victims of domestic violence and 150 controls that were matched according to age range, gender, and literacy. Ghahari’s Elder Abuse Inventory, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and Elder Depression Inventory were used for data collection. Data were analyzed in SPSS-22 Software using Pearson correlation coefficient and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA). Results: The prevalence of emotional abuse was 50 (31%), physical abuse 19 (13%), neglect 59 (40%), religious abuse 13 (9.3%), financial abuse 8 (6%), and sexual abuse 1 (0.66%). The mean (SD) general health score was significantly lower among victims of domestic violence in than the control group: 23.8 (9.8) versus 18.9 (5.6), P<0.05. The mean (SD) depression score was significantly higher among victims of domestic violence than the control group: 3.8 (3.5) versus 1.6 (2.5), P