An Investigation of the Longitudinal Effects of Crime Victimisation on Social Well-being; Cognitive and Physical Health in Older Adults

Being the victim of a crime can have detrimental effects on people's health and well-being, in the
short term and even long after the crime was committed (e.g. Norman et al., 2012). In older adults,
abuse (both criminal abuse and neglect) is associated with decreased years of survival after the
abuse occurred (Lachs, Williams, O'Brien, Pillemer, & Charlson, 1998). However, it is still unclear
how victimisation leads to increased risk of death. Lachs et al. (1998) suggest that negative social
support may directly or indirectly be a causal factor. There is some evidence that, for older adults,
being the victim of a crime is associated with greater social isolation; an increase in feeling unsafe
and a higher level of dissatisfaction with their neighbourhood (Scharf, Phillipson, & Smith, 2005). A
recent review of the negative consequences of abuse of older adults shows strong links between
being the victim of abuse and negative health consequences, including decreased physical health,
increased hospitalisation and mental health disorders (Yunus, Hairi, & Yuen, 2019). However, the
review found that there were not enough studies in the literature to be certain of the effect of
older adults' victimisation their quality of life, cognitive decline and social functioning.
We do know that social isolation in older adults is linked to reduced physical and mental health
(Cornwell & Waite, 2009), increased cognitive decline (Tilvis et al., 2004), as well as leading to an
increase in fear of crime (Acierno, Rheingold, Resnick, & Kilpatrick, 2004). Conversely having social
support predicts higher quality of life in older adults (Gow, Pattie, Whiteman, Whalley, & Deary,
2007). Some of these effects suggest that negative feedback loops maybe at play here. Social
isolation may increase cognitive decline and fear of crime, but fear of crime and cognitive decline
may also increase social isolation: each node in this network could be strengthening each other's
effect.