The relationship of general, physical, and psychological violence with depressive symptoms and cognition in elders...

to analyze the relationship of general, physical, and psychological violence with depressive symptoms and cognition in the elderly.

quantitative, cross-sectional study, carried out with 323 elders from the Brazilian northeast. Data collection used a sociodemographic instrument; the Conflict Tactics Scales Form R; the Geriatric Depression Scale; and the Mini-Mental State Examination. The analysis employed descriptive and inferential statistics.

as violence increases, so do the depressive symptoms; the opposite was true when comparing violence with cognitive involvement. There is a correlation between physical and psychological violence and depressive symptoms; more depressive elders are from 1.96 to 3.00 times more likely to be the victims of psychological and physical violence, respectively.

general, physical, and psychological violence is associated with depressive symptoms; those with less cognitive alterations are more vulnerable to abuse. Elders with depressive symptoms are more likely to suffer psychological and physically violence.