Elder abuse in rural India: uncovering the interplay between functional impairment and ethnicity

The present study attempted to examine the association of functional limitations and elder abuse among the tribal and non-tribal ethnic groups in West Bengal, India, from a comparative framework. The study revealed that tribal older adults (20%) were in a better position in the field of abuse since they were less abused compared to their non-tribal counterpart (44.5%). Substantially, 58.1% of older people with functional impairment were victims of abuse. Furthermore, non-tribal older adults were 0.07 times more likely to suffer from abuse (AOR: 0.07; CI: 0.02-0.21) than their counterparts. Similarly, functionally dependent respondents had a higher risk of being abused. Non-tribal older adults with functional impairments had higher odds to suffer from abuse compared to tribal older adults with no functional impairments. However, being widowed and having no formal education and with education up to upper primary level were also found to be significant predictors of mistreatment among older adults.