Globally, people experience different forms of fear; however, the fear of aging is a rising phenomenon that affects the individual and leaves a huge mark on their existence. There are incidents of abuse in older adults resulting in the indelible fear of aging in younger adults if left unattended. The purpose of this study is to link the fear of aging to older adult abuse in order to show the relevance and need for social work practice. This study was qualitative, using in-depth interviews with 30 young adults. We found that the aging process, which is traditionally seen as a blessing, is often associated with difficulties such as older adult abuses that tend to instill fear in younger adults thereby hampering the aging process. Results revealed that verbal abuse amidst other forms of abuse was the most common form of abuse among older adults. These abuses affect how young persons perceive the aging process, including fears associated with aging. The study recognizes the roles of social workers in adult protection programmes and also recommends the implementation of programmes that prevent older adult abuse.

在全球范围内，人们经历着不同形式的恐惧；然而，对衰老的恐惧是一种日益严重的现象，影响着个人并在他们的存在中留下了巨大的印记。存在虐待老年人的事件，导致年轻人对如果无人看管就会变老产生不可磨灭的恐惧。本研究的目的是将对衰老的恐惧与老年人虐待联系起来，以表明社会工作实践的相关性和必要性。这项研究是定性的，对 30 名年轻人进行了深入访谈。我们发现，传统上被视为祝福的衰老过程往往与诸如虐待老年人等困难有关，这些困难往往会给年轻人灌输恐惧，从而阻碍衰老过程。结果显示，在其他形式的虐待中，言语虐待是老年人中最常见的虐待形式。这些虐待影响年轻人如何看待衰老过程，包括与衰老相关的恐惧。该研究认识到社会工作者在成人保护计划中的作用，并建议实施防止老年人虐待的计划。