Violent, abusive, and harmful behavior enacted by older adults upon their caregivers represents a distressing and frequently disregarded facet within the domain of caregiving. This qualitative study aims to (a) explore family caregivers’ experiences of violent, abusive, and harmful behavior by the older person and (b) explore how violent, abusive, and harmful behavior by the older person affects family caregivers’ mental health. This qualitative study encompassed 393 participants, with a diverse age range spanning from 40 to 72 years. All the interviews went through the process of content analysis. For the first objective, findings indicated six emerging themes: Frequent and extreme verbal violence (77.3%); feeling manipulated and controlled by older adults (74.7%); experiencing unpredictable illegal circumstances provoked by older adults (62.1%); experiencing damaging financial issues provoked by older adults (43.1%); experiencing physical violence (34.2.%); and experiencing sexual violence (31.1%). The second objective highlighted four themes: depression and anxiety (89.9 %), anger (81.2%), feeling morally isolated (78.3%), and emotional outbursts (65.1%). Brazilian participants mainly experienced frequent and extreme verbal violence (62.4%). Moreover, depression and anxiety were mainly verbalized by English participants (84.3%). These findings underscore the significant toll that older individuals’ violent, abusive, and harmful behavior can have on the mental well-being of family caregivers. This study sheds light on the complex experiences faced by family caregivers and emphasizes the urgent need for targeted interventions to foster healthier caregiving environments. Older individuals’ violent, abusive, and harmful behavior toward their caregivers has received limited attention in research and public discourse. The findings of this study call attention to the pressing need of addressing this issue, given its detrimental impact on the mental health of family carers. Recognizing the significance of this topic demands a comprehensive and targeted approach to ensure the well-being and safety of caregivers and older adults.

中文翻译：

---

披着羊皮的狼？老年人对其家庭照顾者的暴力、虐待和有害行为：一项定性研究


老年人对其护理人员实施的暴力、虐待和有害行为是护理领域中令人痛苦且经常被忽视的一个方面。这项定性研究旨在 (a) 探讨家庭照顾者对老年人的暴力、虐待和有害行为的经历，以及 (b) 探讨老年人的暴力、虐待和有害行为如何影响家庭照顾者的心理健康。这项定性研究涵盖了 393 名参与者，年龄范围从 40 岁到 72 岁不等。所有采访都经过了内容分析的过程。对于第一个目标，调查结果表明了六个新兴主题： 频繁且极端的言语暴力（77.3%）；感觉被老年人操纵和控制（74.7%）；经历由老年人引发的不可预测的非法情况（62.1%）；经历由老年人引发的破坏性财务问题（43.1%）；遭受身体暴力（34.2.%）；遭受性暴力（31.1%）。第二个目标突出了四个主题：抑郁和焦虑（89.9%）、愤怒（81.2%）、道德孤立感（78.3%）和情绪爆发（65.1%）。巴西参与者主要经历过频繁且极端的言语暴力（62.4%）。此外，抑郁和焦虑主要是由英语参与者（84.3%）用言语表达的。这些发现强调了老年人的暴力、虐待和有害行为可能对家庭照顾者的心理健康造成重大影响。这项研究揭示了家庭护理人员面临的复杂经历，并强调迫切需要采取有针对性的干预措施，以营造更健康的护理环境。 老年人对其照顾者的暴力、虐待和有害行为在研究和公共讨论中受到的关注有限。鉴于该问题对家庭护理人员的心理健康产生不利影响，这项研究的结果引起了人们对解决这一问题的迫切需要的关注。认识到这一主题的重要性需要采取全面、有针对性的方法来确保护理人员和老年人的福祉和安全。