Social support and elder mistreatment in Brazil: Exploring relationships and moderating effects

Prior literature has demonstrated a negative association between social support and elder mistreatment. Furthermore, it is argued that social support may moderate the negative relationship between health status and elder mistreatment. This study is the first to investigate these assertions in the context of Brazil using population-based data. Building on existing evidence, our hypotheses are: 1) increased social support decreases the risk of elder mistreatment; 2) social support has a moderating effect against elder mistreatment. We utilize data from the 2019 National Health Survey (NHS) and employ various metrics of social support and health status to examine these hypotheses. Binary logistic regression is implemented as the statistical model to explore how social support correlates with elder mistreatment. Additionally, we conduct a series of interactions between our measures of social support and health status to assess the potential moderating effect of social support against elder mistreatment. Overall, our findings indicate that increased social support from individuals with stronger ties to the elderly, such as family and close friends, indeed reduces the likelihood of elder mistreatment. In contrast, enhanced social support demonstrated by increased participation in broader and more distant social networks and circles of sociability may potentially elevate the risk of mistreatment among the elderly. Moreover, our results suggest that the negative relationship between health status and elder mistreatment is partially moderated by increased social support. While evidence regarding other dimensions of social support remains inconsistent, enhanced support, particularly from family members, appears to mitigate negative outcomes for the elderly. Ultimately, our study contributes by revealing and discussing the interplay between social support, health status, and elder mistreatment. Furthermore, it suggests that evidence-based initiatives, particularly interventions centered around family support, can enhance the overall well-being of the elderly population in Brazil