Abstract
Increasing attention is being placed on the prevalence of elder abuse and its impact on mental health. This study conducted a survey of 172 elderly people in South Korea to determine the prevalence of elder abuse and the relationships involving elder abuse, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires, which included the Korean Geriatric Depression Screening Scale (KGDS) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised Korean version (IES-R-K). Descriptive analyses were conducted to examine the frequency of specific forms of abuse. Logistic regression models were estimated to identify the factors that contributed to risk of abuse exposure and the relationship between exposure and PTSD or depression. The results indicated around 22% of the participants reported abuse exposure, which most commonly included being refused physical contact, verbal threats, and/or being excluded from decision-making about personal issues. Low education and being unmarried, separated or divorced was associated with an increased risk of abuse exposure. There were strong associations between elder abuse and PTSD symptoms, while comparable relationships with depression were weaker and were not robust to the inclusion of control variables. The findings provided empirical support for the relationship between abuse experiences of the elderly and poor mental health and raise important issues for the mental health care of the elderly.
Highlights
An estimated 5 to 10% of older people in the United States experience mistreatment each year [1].In a meta-analysis of data from 59,203 older adults across 44 studies, the mean prevalence rate of elder abuse was 15.7% [2], with a range between 3.2% and 27.5% [3]
In a South Korean survey of elder abuse among older adults, emotional abuse was highest at 40.1 %, followed by physical abuse at 31.3%, neglect at 19.1%, financial abuse at 7.2%, sexual abuse at 1.3% and abandonment at 1.0% [5]
A total of 57% of the participants lived with their spouses, 22.7% lived with their children and 19.8% lived alone
Summary
An estimated 5 to 10% of older people in the United States experience mistreatment each year [1].In a meta-analysis of data from 59,203 older adults across 44 studies, the mean prevalence rate of elder abuse was 15.7% [2], with a range between 3.2% and 27.5% [3]. Elder abuse is defined as a single or repeated act, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person over the age of 65. It includes a range of types of abuse including physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse, as well as abandonment and neglect [4]. In a South Korean survey of elder abuse among older adults, emotional abuse was highest at 40.1 %, followed by physical abuse at 31.3%, neglect at 19.1%, financial abuse at 7.2%, sexual abuse at 1.3% and abandonment at 1.0% [5].
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