Christophe Vandeviver

Measurement equivalence of the CES-D 8 depression-scale among the ageing population in eleven European countries

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders in later life. However, despite considerable research attention, great confusion remains regarding the association between ageing and depression. There is doubt as to whether a depression scale performs identically for different age groups and countries. Although measurement equivalence is a crucial prerequisite for valid comparisons across age groups and countries, it has not been established for the eight-item version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D8). Using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, we assess configural, metric, and scalar measurement equivalence across two age groups (50-64 years of age and 65 or older) in eleven European countries, employing data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement (SHARE). Results indicate that the construct of depression is comparable across age and country groups, allowing the substantive interpretation of correlates and mean levels of depressive symptoms.

Suicidal ideation while incarcerated: Prevalence and correlates in a large sample of male prisoners in Flanders, Belgium

Prisoners constitute a high-risk group for suicide. As an early stage in the pathway leading to suicide, suicidal ideation represents an important target for prevention, yet research on this topic is scarce in general prison populations. Using a cross-sectional survey design, correlates of suicidal ideation while incarcerated were examined in a sample of 1203 male prisoners, randomly selected from 15 Flemish prisons. Overall, a lifetime history of suicidal ideation and attempts was endorsed by 43.1% and 20.3% of respondents, respectively. Approximately a quarter of all prisoners (23.7%) reported past-year suicidal ideation during their current incarceration, which was significantly associated with both imported vulnerabilities (psychiatric diagnoses and a history of attempted suicide) and variables unique to the prison experience (lack of working activity, exposure to suicidal behaviour by peers, and low levels of perceived autonomy, safety and social support) in the multivariate regression analysis. A first-ever period of imprisonment and a shorter length of incarceration (≤12months) were also associated with increased odds of recent suicidal ideation. Collectively, the current findings underscore the importance of both vulnerability factors and prison-specific stressors for suicidal ideation in prisoners, and hence the need for a multi-faceted approach to suicide prevention in custodial settings. In addition to the provision of appropriate mental health care, environmental interventions that target modifiable aspects of the prison regime could provide a substantial buffer for the onset and persistence of suicidal ideation in this at-risk population.

Are older women forgotten in the fight against sexual violence

In light of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8, we want to draw attention to the risk of neglecting older women in the discourse on women’s rights and in the recent campaigns around sexual victimisation. Sexual violence can induce long-lasting sexual, reproductive, physical, and mental health problems for victims and their peers, offspring, and community. In older adults, however, manifestations of these consequences are rarely recognised or linked to sexual victimisation. In contrast to the increasing research on elder abuse and neglect, sexual violence in older adults remains a largely under-researched area. In a meta-analysis of elder abuse prevalence in community settings, only 16 of 52 included studies addressed sexual violence. Moreover, reported prevalences of sexual violence in older adults were likely to be underestimated because of several methodological problems. First, most studies only included questions about rape, which is much less common than for example sexual harassment or sexual abuse without penetration. Second, in the majority of studies older adults were interviewed via telephone, which could lead to underreporting caused by safety issues, especially when victim and assailant live together. Third, all studies exclude cognitive impaired older adults who are known to be vulnerable to different types of abuse. And finally, all studies focus on assailants known to the victim, ignoring the fact that older adults can also be sexually offended by strangers. In summary, sexual violence in older adults is still too often conflated with other types of violence in the broader context of elder abuse and neglect. Although research shows that sexuality remains important in older age, older adults are frequently considered “asexual” in policies and practices. This assumption of asexuality may further enhance the risk of ignoring that older women can be sexually victimised and in need of tailored care. Even the leading organisations providing guidance on care, including WHO, ignore the complexity of sexual violence in older adults by not including “disrespect of (sexual) intimacy” and “sexual neglect” into their definition of elder abuse and neglect. This exclusion might lead to inadequate care of older adult victims of sexual violence. Revising the definition of elder abuse and neglect by including “sexual neglect”, as has recently been done by a group of academics and policy makers in Quebec, is of utmost importance. They defined “sexual neglect” as “a failure to provide privacy, failure to respect a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, treating older adults as asexual beings and/or preventing them from expressing their sexuality, etc”. Altough older women are faced with several challenges that are linked to biological ageing, including physical and cognitive impairement, we argue that they are not suddenly exempted from sexuality nor to being prone to sexual violence exposure. Older women should be considered as much female as women of other ages with specific vulnerabilities and risks of sexual victimisation. We urgently call for increased attention to older women in research, policies, and health practices.

Integrating police-recorded crime data and DNA data to study serial co-offending behaviour

When studying offending behaviour, researchers primarily rely on police-recorded crime data, even though such data contain only detected crimes and known offenders. Using DNA data, which also contain information on unknown offenders, enables researchers to link offenders by identifying their presence at shared crime scenes. In this paper we combine police-recorded crime data with DNA data to study serial co-offending behaviour. We focus on the changes the networks of crimes obtained from police-recorded crime data undergo when integrated with data from unknown offenders in the DNA database. We demonstrate that an integrated dataset reveals more and larger networks of crimes with a larger spatiotemporal spread compared with the police-recorded crime data only.When studying offending behaviour, researchers primarily rely on police-recorded crime data, even though such data contain only detected crimes and known offenders. Using DNA data, which also conta...