This study explored and focused on the context in which nonphysical violence occurred and the factors that prevented older women from seeking or obtaining help.
Description of nonphysical violence appeared clustered under the notion that power and control dynamics were integrally related to the effect of such abuse on older women and that as a result, nonphysical abuse might be more difficult to endure and have more lasting effects than physical violence. Generational influences and the context of long-lasting, abusive relationships appeared to contribute to attitudes of participants regarding nonphysical abuse. The Domestic Violence Against Older Women study captured perspectives of 134 women age 45 and older regarding the experience of domestic violence later in life. This article describes previously unreported findings from the study regarding nonphysical abuse of older women in intimate relationships. Nonphysical abuse is described as experiences identified in the literature on domestic violence, domestic violence later in life, and elder abuse with the words psychological, mental, verbal, and emotional in various combinations with action descriptors, such as abuse, battering, aggression, and violence. References