Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated just now
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Frontiers in Psychiatry

Elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms among older adults in China: the mechanism of physical frailty and social frailty

  • Wenle Zhang1
  • Wen Hou2
  • Zhu Guo3
  • Jiaxin Feng4,5
  • Baoyi Liao4,5
  • Jiahong Xie4,5
  • Dongli Wang4,5
  • Rui Gao4,5
  • Maomin Jiang3
  • Yisong Yao4,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Xiamen Xian-yue Hospital, Xian-yue Hospital Affiliated with Xiamen Medical College, Fujian Psychiatric Center, Fujian Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Xiamen, China.
  2. 2Department of Sports and Health Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
  3. 3School of Nursing, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
  4. 4Key Laboratory of Digital-Intelligent Disease Surveillance and Health Governance, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China.
  5. 5The Primary Health Development Research Center of Sichuan Province, Nanchong, China.
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to examine the association between elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms among older adults and explore the mechanisms of physical frailty and social frailty between them.

Methods: A total of 1361 older adults were included in this study. Multiple linear regression and propensity score matching was conducted to confirm the association between elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed to explore the mechanisms of physical frailty and social frailty between elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms.

Results: Elderly abuse was significantly associated with higher levels of anxiety symptoms. Psychological abuse and neglect showed the strongest associations with anxiety symptoms. Social frailty played moderating roles between both psychological abuse, neglect and anxiety symptoms, while physical frailty played moderating roles between only psychological abuse and anxiety symptoms. Physical frailty and social frailty both partly mediated the relationship between psychological abuse, neglect and anxiety symptoms.

Conclusions: This study provides insight into the systematic relationship between elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms among older adults in Sichuan province. Preventive strategies should address abuse, physical health, and social support simultaneously of older adults.

Related

  1. Impact of Functional Frailty Measured by Short Physical Performance Battery Test on the Effectiveness of SGLT2 Inhibitors in Elderly Patients with Acute Heart Failure:PROFUND-IC Registry
    Alicia Guzmán-Carreras, Purificación Romero-Jiménez, Sahar Okab +8
    Journal of Clinical MedicinePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textCardiovascular medicineCrossrefEurope PMC
  2. Physical activity and non-suicidal self-injury in Chinese adolescents: a two-wave study of anxiety symptoms and social support
    Xinyue Pan, Jianyi Li, Ting Zhou +1
    Frontiers in Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Epidemiology & public healthCrossref
  3. Associations between physical activity intensity, frequency, and anxiety symptoms among South Korean adolescents: a sociodemographic subgroup analysis
    Jihyun Song, Wonseok Choi
    Frontiers in public healthPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textPhysiologyEurope PMCCrossref
  4. Frailty and sleep quality in elderly living in old age homes of Kathmandu Valley: a cross-sectional study
    Ronit Zoowa, Dipana Pradhan, Ravi Shah +2
    Annals of medicine and surgery (2012)Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-SAFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  5. Association Between Frailty Index and New-Onset Stroke in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese Adults with Gastrointestinal or Liver Diseases: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
    Xiao She, Haiyan Yang, Xiao Zhao +1
    Journal of clinical medicinePeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{zhang2026elderly,
  title = {{Elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms among older adults in China: the mechanism of physical frailty and social frailty}},
  author = {Wenle Zhang and Wen Hou and Zhu Guo and Jiaxin Feng and Baoyi Liao and Jiahong Xie and Dongli Wang and Rui Gao and Maomin Jiang and Yisong Yao},
  journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1813570},
  url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1813570/full},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms among older adults in China: the mechanism of physical frailty and social frailty
AU  - Wenle Zhang
AU  - Wen Hou
AU  - Zhu Guo
AU  - Jiaxin Feng
AU  - Baoyi Liao
AU  - Jiahong Xie
AU  - Dongli Wang
AU  - Rui Gao
AU  - Maomin Jiang
AU  - Yisong Yao
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
JO  - Frontiers in Psychiatry
DO  - 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1813570
UR  - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1813570/full
AB  - Purpose: This study aims to examine the association between elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms among older adults and explore the mechanisms of physical frailty and social frailty between them.  Methods: A total of 1361 older adults were included in this study. Multiple linear regression and propensity score matching was conducted to confirm the association between elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed to explore the mechanisms of physical frailty and social frailty between elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms.  Results: Elderly abuse was significantly associated with higher levels of anxiety symptoms. Psychological abuse and neglect showed the strongest associations with anxiety symptoms. Social frailty played moderating roles between both psychological abuse, neglect and anxiety symptoms, while physical frailty played moderating roles between only psychological abuse and anxiety symptoms. Physical frailty and social frailty both partly mediated the relationship between psychological abuse, neglect and anxiety symptoms.  Conclusions: This study provides insight into the systematic relationship between elderly abuse and anxiety symptoms among older adults in Sichuan province. Preventive strategies should address abuse, physical health, and social support simultaneously of older adults.
SN  - 1664-0640
ER  -