Perspectives on Elder Abuse in Greece

The sample for this exploratory qualitative study of Greek perceptions of elder abuse consisted of 43 Greek participants from urban centers and 28 Greeks from a small island village. Participants were asked to provide examples of extreme, moderate, and mild abuse from an adult child toward his/her aging parent. Half of the examples of extreme abuse were various forms of physical aggression. Predominant examples of moderate abuse were psychological abuse and neglect, and at the mild level neglect was the most highly cited category. The most frequently mentioned specific types of elder mistreatment were verbal abuse, psychological neglect, physical neglect, and hitting. There were no gender differences in the kinds of examples that participants gave or the severity they attributed to their examples. Females were more often presented as victims of abuse than males. A negative correlation was found between age and the number of physical abuse examples given overall, and as types of severe abuse.