Elder Mistreatment Among Four Asian American Groups

Abstract

Using 14 statements, this study examined similarities and differences among four groups of elders (American-born Chinese Americans, American-born Japanese Americans, first-generation Korean Americans, and first-generation Taiwanese Americans) with regard to tolerance for elder mistreatment behaviors, tendency to victim blame, and attitudes toward reporting elder mistreatment. The American-born groups were more likely to be tolerant of verbal abuse, less likely to blame the elderly parents for causing the mistreatment by their grown children, and more favorable toward reporting elder mistreatment to the authorities. The Korean Americans differed significantly from the other three groups: They had a greater tolerance for financial exploitation, were more likely to blame the elder as the cause of the mistreatment, and not favorable toward reporting and outside intervention. Among all participants, tolerance for elder mistreatment was strongly associated with victim blaming and not favoring reporting and outside intervention. The large percentages of “Don't know” and “It depends” responses to the statements among all four groups indicate that these groups are unfamiliar with the problems of elder mistreatment.

Key Words:

• Elder mistreatment
• tolerance
• victim blaming
• third party intervention and reporting
• four Asian American groups