Perceptions of elder abuse and neglect by older Chinese immigrants in Canada

ABSTRACT

This study investigates how older adults perceive elder abuse and neglect in the context of migration and ageing. Based on a qualitative study of recent Chinese older immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada, it seeks to understand how migration and ageing processes, both of which engender cultural and contextual changes, shape and reshape views of elder abuse and neglect. The study argues that culture is important in older immigrants’ perceptions of elder abuse and neglect, yet individuals with the same cultural roots may differ in their conceptualizations. Further, such perceptions could change through interactions with peers and non-peers in the host society, and these, in turn, can be influenced by both cultural and structural factors.

KEYWORDS:

• Canada
• immigrant
• elder abuse
• elder neglect
• Chinese

Acknowledgments

I acknowledge the assistance provided by Lucy Liu, Sunny Liu, Tianlang Ouyang, and Anqi Zhang. I am grateful to the board members of the Chinese Senior Association for their help in the research project, and all older persons who participated in the focus group and the interviews. The early version of this manuscript was presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association on Gerontology: Evidence for Action in an Aging World, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, October 19-21, 2017.

Conflics of interest

There is no conflict of interest.

Notes

1. The literature uses the terms elder abuse, elder mistreatment, abuse or mistreatment of older adults interchangeably. I use the term elder abuse. Chinese older immigrants use 虐老often translated as “elder abuse.”

2. Readers may refer to Dong (2015) for an excellent review of studies of EAN in the global Chinese population, including work on prevalence, risk factors, consequences, and perceptions.

3. The figures are calculated by the author, based on the Public Use Microdata Files of the National Household Survey, 2011.

4. The report did not specify when the incident occurred or if it was reported.

5. The full text of the 2012 amended law is available at http://www.gov.cn/flfg/2012-12/28/content_2305570.htm, and the English version of the law promulgated in 1996 is available at http://www.china.org.cn/english/government/207403.htm, accessed December 14, 2018.

6. Toronto Sun and CTV news reported that a Chinese older woman was found unconscious in a small room in her son and daughter-in-law’s garage; she had frost-bitten toes and bruises. This abuse had huge repercussions, not just in Chinese communities but across Canada. See Hughes and Luo (2016) for a detailed analysis of the case.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research and Scholarly Activity Fund, University of Toronto Mississauga, 2016.