Elder abuse by caregivers: A study of prevalence and risk factors in Hong Kong Chinese families

Abstract

This study aimed to establish preliminary estimates and related risk factors for elder abuse among Hong Kong Chinese families. A total of 276 elder Chinese participated in the study, among which 27.5% reported having experienced at least one abusive behavior committed against them by their caregivers during the surveyed year. The most common form of abuse was verbal abuse (26.8%), whereas physical abuse (2.5%) and violation of personal rights (5.1%) were relatively less common. There was no gender difference in the prevalence of elder abuse. Overall and verbal abuse were best predicted by participants' poor visual and memory abilities, dependence on the caregivers, and caregivers' nondependence on them. Physical abuse was best predicted by caregivers' nondependence on the participants as well as participants' dependence on the caregivers. Participants' age was the only significant predictor for violation of personal rights. Results, limitations, and implications of the study were also discussed.