Older Women Survivors of Physical and Sexual Violence: A Systematic Review of the Quantitative Literature

Background: This systematic review synthesizes the quantitative empirical literature concerning older women survivors of physical and sexual assault. Methods: A literature search was conducted using a range of scholarly databases. Information is presented here on the prevalence, correlates, and consequences of these types of interpersonal violence in older women. Additionally, age-related differences in prevalence, psychiatric distress, and characteristics of violence, including information on perpetrators, are reviewed. Results: Overall, older women report lower lifetime and past year rates of physical and sexual assault and associated negative psychologic consequences compared to younger and middle-aged women. Additionally, older women who experienced interpersonal violence report greater psychiatric distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), than older women who have not experienced such events. Conclusions: Some women who have been physically or sexually assaulted decades earlier in life continue to report significant levels of PTSD well into older adulthood. Gaps in the literature, including lack of information on ethnicity and culture, are presented, and future research directions are proposed.