Family carers admit abusing relatives or spouses with dementia

London, United Kingdom, January 23: A new study has found that nearly half of the family caregivers of Alzheimer’s and other dementia patients admitted that they behave abusively towards them.

The study was conducted by the researchers from the University College London (UCL), United Kingdom.

Lead author of the study, Claudia Cooper, a researcher at University College London, said, that verbal abuse such as yelling, shouting, swearing were common, but only 3 out of 220 people surveyed admitted of physical abuse.

A third of family caregivers admitted that they often blow up either due to tiredness or frustration and revealed significant abusive behaviour such as screaming or yelling hit the person they were looking after family member with Alzheimer or dementia.

The study author suggested that this could be a cry for help from family members, who are at breaking point. Adding further she said, " Many people think about elder abuse in terms of "lashing out" and similar acts but abuse as defined by government guidelines can be as simple as shouting or swearing.”

“This research provides a strong sign that we need to help people who are being very honest about the difficulties of dealing with a close, stressful relationship," she said.

For the study, the scientists surveyed 220 people who cared at home for a family member with dementia who had recently been referred to psychiatric services in London and Essex. Of them, 115 family carers admitted of abusive behaviour such as very occasionally screaming or yelling, while 74 people reported more frequent insulting or swearing. Some of the other abuses admitted by carers were threats to send the relative to a care home, or to stop caring for them.

According to the Alzheimer's Society, the study findings are 'shocking' but they also added that many family carers were under great strain.

The study published today in the British Medical Journal shows that abuse of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia does not occur just among paid carers. Study co-author, Dr. Gill Livingston, said, “Our findings suggest that any strategy for safeguarding vulnerable adults must be directed toward families who provide the majority of care for older people, rather than exclusively at paid carers."

Approximately twenty four million people around the world suffers from loss of memory, problems with orientation, impaired thinking and other symptoms that point out towards Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.