Childhood Trauma Raises Risk of Elderly Abuse: Study

Tokyo, Nov. 1 (Jiji Press)--People with adverse childhood experiences, such as domestic violence and neglect, are up to 7.65 times more prone to verbally or physically abusing elderly people than those without such experiences are, Japanese researchers have found.

The researchers, including Chie Koga, project assistant professor of the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, analyzed answers collected in September-October 2022 in an online survey that asked participants about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives and health.

The survey covered about 13,300 people aged 20-64 who suffered ACEs that could potentially cause psychological trauma when they were 17 years old or younger.

In the survey, 8.5 pct said they have abused family members aged 65 or over or other people in the age group.

Compared with people without ACEs, the risk of abusing elderly people was 3.22 times higher for respondents who have had at least one type of such experience, such as parental divorce and physical and psychological abuse, and 7.65 times higher for those who have experienced two or more types.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]