Victims Of Elder Mistreatment Research Articles

Elder Abuse Severity: A Critical but Understudied Dimension of Victimization for Clinicians and Researchers.

To describe the variation in severity of elder emotional abuse, physical abuse, and neglect and identify factors associated with more severe forms of elder mistreatment (EM). Population-based study using random digit-dial sampling and telephone interviews with a representative sample (n = 4,156) of community-dwelling, cognitively intact older adults in New York State. The Conflict Tactics Scale and DUKE Older Americans Resources and Services scales were adapted to assess EM subtypes. For each EM subtype, severity was operationalized by summing the number of different mistreatment behaviors and the frequency of each behavior. Among older adults reporting some degree of mistreatment, ordinal or multinomial regression predicted severity of elder emotional abuse, physical abuse, and neglect. Distribution of EM severity was characterized by a negative/right skew. More severe emotional abuse was predicted by younger age, living with the perpetrator only, Hispanic background, and higher education. Increasing physical abuse severity was associated with younger age and living only with the perpetrator. Higher neglect severity was associated with functional impairment, younger age, living only with the perpetrator, lower income, and lower education. The presence of nonperpetrator others living in the home served a protective function against escalating mistreatment severity. Extends existing EM risk factor research by operationalizing mistreatment phenomena along a continuum of severity. Findings enhance capacity to screen and report particularly vulnerable EM victims and inform targeted interventions to ameliorate the problem. Incorporation of severity into EM research/measurement reflects the clinical and phenomenological reality of the problem.

The Relationship Between Elder Mistreatment and Suicidal Ideation in Rural Older Adults in China

The aim of this study was to examine the association of elder mistreatment subtypes and suicidal ideation in adults age 60 years and older residing in a Chinese rural community. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional survey in 2010 and 2,039 adults age 60 and older, living in Macheng city of Hubei province, China, were interviewed face-to-face using a structured questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the independent effect of elder mistreatment to suicidal ideation among older adults. Older adults who endorsed mistreatment had a significantly higher rate of suicidal ideation than those without elder mistreatment both in men (17.4% versus 2.4%; χ(2)= 58.04, p<0.01) and women (15.8% versus 4.0%; χ(2)= 50.24, p<0.01). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, psychological mistreatment (OR: 5.0; 95% CI: 2.5-9.8) and financial mistreatment (OR: 4.1; 95% CI: 1.2-14.7) were positively associated with suicidal ideation. Among men, psychological mistreatment (OR: 5.4; 95% CI: 2.6-11.2) and financial mistreatment (OR: 4.2; 95% CI: 1.1-16.2) were positively associated with suicidal ideation. Among women, physical mistreatment (OR: 4.5; 95% CI: 2.2-9.2) and psychological mistreatment (OR: 2.6; 95% CI: 1.5-4.4) were positively associated with suicidal ideation. This is the first study that demonstrates that elder adults who experienced mistreatment are at increased risk for suicidal ideation. Our findings suggest that clinicians need to consider mistreatment exposure in older patients who have suicidal ideation. Victims of elder mistreatment should be the targets for suicide monitoring and prevention programs.

The roles of nurses on interprofessional teams to combat elder mistreatment

Elder mistreatment (EM) is a growing and hidden problem. Nurses have a responsibility to identify potential and actual EM victims. The purpose of this article is to describe the roles of nurses on interprofessional elder mistreatment teams. Current nursing roles in the recognition and management of EM include assessment and screening, mandatory reporting, direct care, and complaint investigation. While the efforts of individual nurses in the detection and management of cases is important, EM is a complex problem that is best approached through interprofessional collaboration. In the greater Seattle area, such collaboration is accomplished through membership on the King County Elder Abuse Project teams. Nurses give expert opinion, educate team members, and provide case consultation. University faculty experience on the teams inspired the start of a Master's pathway in Forensic Nursing, focused nursing research, and increased public policy activity and community service. Nurses on interprofessional teams gain networking opportunities as well as experience with the system that is in place to protect and serve vulnerable adults.

The Quality of Data Collection by an Interview on the Prevalence of Elder Mistreatment

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of the interview process that was used to obtain data on the prevalence of elder mistreatment in order to improve the quality of this process in future research studies. Audiotapes of interviews with 143 victims of elder mistreatment were transcribed into verbatim protocols that were subsequently coded and analyzed. The results of the present study show that despite the fact that all interviewers were carefully selected, intensively trained, and supervised during the interview period, 4.2% of the questions were skipped, and in 4.4% of the interactions no usable answer was obtained. However, in all of these cases the interviewer did register an answer, the validity of which is questionable. Considerable differences were found between interviewers with respect to their performance and also between the various questions. Finally, suggestions are made to improve interviewer behavior.

Psychological distress in victims of elder mistreatment: the effects of social support and coping.

The objective of the study was to examine psychological distress in victims of elder mistreatment and to determine whether social support, coping style, mastery, and perceived self-efficacy favorably influence the psychological health of these victims. The study sample consisted of 77 subjects who reported recent chronic verbal aggression, physical aggression, or financial mistreatment, and a control group of 147 subjects who had not been mistreated. All participants were elderly persons who were over 65 years of age and living independently in the community. Social support, coping style, mastery, and perceived self-efficacy were measured by means of a standardized home interview. Psychological distress was measured by means of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Victims of elder mistreatment had significantly higher levels of psychological distress than nonvictims. Social support showed a favorable effect on the level of psychological distress in victims, but not in nonvictims; victims who received more social support showed less psychological distress. A lower sense of mastery, a negative perception of self-efficacy, and a passive reaction pattern were associated with higher levels of psychological distress in victims as well as in nonvictims. The beneficial role of social support, locus of control, and perceived self-efficacy on the level of psychological distress could be of importance in the development of future intervention programs.

Hostility and coping capacity as risk factors of elder mistreatment.

In the present study we investigate whether, in addition to established risk factors, some personality traits of the victims are associated with elder mistreatment. Identified victims of chronic verbal aggression (n = 37), physical aggression (n = 38) and financial mistreatment (n = 55) as well as equal-sized control groups were interviewed. The control groups were matched on age, gender, and the characteristics that have been identified as risk factors for the types of elder mistreatment listed above. All respondents were over 65 years of age. In a standardised interview, commonly used instruments were utilised to assess coping style, locus of control, perceived self-efficacy and hostility. To analyse the data multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. The study found that, chronic verbal aggression was associated with having less control over problem situations and a higher tendency to react aggressively when feeling angry or frustrated. Physical aggression was associated with a passive and avoidant way of handling problems. Financial mistreatment was associated with having negative beliefs of self-efficacy and a tendency to turn aggression and frustration on themselves. These results indicate that in addition to the established risk factors, some personality traits of the victims have to be considered as risk factors of elder mistreatment. The way people handle problems makes them more or less vulnerable to becoming victims of elder mistreatment. Furthermore, the results indicate that elder mistreatment may be associated to some extent with long-standing interaction patterns among family members. These findings are important for prevention of an intervention in cases of elder mistreatment.

The consideration of cultural factors in the research of elder mistreatment with an in-depth look at the Japanese

Within the context of elder mistreatment, little attention has been paid to ethnicity and cultural factors as independent or causal variables. Focusing on the Japanese as an example, this paper explores cultural factors that may be associated with family conflict and elder mistreatment, including the use of silence as an extreme form of punishment. Also explored are the interrelationships of dependency (amae), holding back (enryo), and being in the way (jama); of social obligation (giri), personal indebtedness (on), and natural feelings or desires (ninjo); and of filial piety and casting away the elder (obasute). Currently-used research and detection protocols will not identify elder mistreatment among the Japanese unless they are modified. This paper provides suggestions for these modifications, as well as suggestions for practitioners who may treat Asian victims of elder mistreatment.