Family Violence Victimization and Mental Health Among Older Women In U.S during COVID-19 Pandemic: Risk and Protective Factors

Introduction

COVID-19 mitigation measures, including lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, were widely implemented during the pandemic. However, homes were not uniformly safe; incidents of family violence increased during this period (Yoon & Mahapatra, 2024). Family violence (FV) is linked to adverse mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety, across age groups and genders (Yoon et al., 2022). Evidence suggests loneliness may heighten psychological vulnerability among survivors, whereas resilience may reduce the negative mental health effects of FV (Yoon & Mahapatra, 2024). Older adults, particularly older women, have been identified as vulnerable to both COVID-19 and abuse. Yet most studies have focused on younger women, child abuse, or risk factors alone, with limited attention to older women and protective factors against FV (Safar et al., 2023). This study examined the association between family violence and anxiety among older women in the United States during COVID-19, with particular attention to the mediating roles of loneliness and resilience.

Methods

Data were collected in the United States from March 8, 2021, to April 8, 2021, in the U.S via an online survey after electronic consent. Survey items were based on questionnaires developed by Mohanty and colleagues (Mohanty et al., 2022). The sample included 281 women aged 51 and older (range: 51- 90). An independent variable, family violence victimization, was measured using the revised Composite Abuse Scale (Ford-Gilboe et al., 2016) and coded as a binary variable (yes/no). The dependent variable, anxiety during COVID-19, was assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) (Spitzer et al., 2006) (α =.956). Intervening variables, loneliness was measured using three items (Hughes et al., 2004) (α = .881), and resilience was assessed with six items from the Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al., 2008) (α = .906). Covariates included physical health, education, age, and income. Missing data were addressed using maximum likelihood estimation in SPSS 29 (Enders, 2022). Serial mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro. Indirect effects were tested with bootstrapping (5,000 samples) and 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Family violence was positively associated with loneliness (b=1.4793, p=.0001) but not directly associated with anxiety. Family violence was negatively associated with resilience (b = -2.5283, p < .01), controlling for loneliness. Loneliness was negatively associated with resilience (b = -8499, p < .001). Loneliness was positively associated with anxiety (b= .5856, p<.001), whereas resilience was negatively associated with anxiety (b= -3791, p<.0001). Significant indirect effects were observed. Family violence was associated with anxiety through loneliness (b= .8663, 95% CI [.2786, 1.5995]), through resilience (b= .9586, 95% CI [.2851, 1.7995]), and through loneliness and resilience serially (b= .4767, CI [.1828, .8540]).

Conclusion

Routine screening for family violence, loneliness, and mental health outcomes among older women is essential for timely intervention. Resilience may mitigate the harmful effects of family violence and loneliness. Healthcare professionals and faith communities should strengthen social connectedness and support systems to reduce loneliness and enhance resilience among vulnerable older women.