Perception of Elder Mistreatment and Its Link to Help-Seeking Intention: A Comparison of Elderly Korean and Korean American Immigrants

Abstract

The study examined perceptions of elder mistreatment (EM) and help-seeking intentions in two older Korean cohorts-residents in Korea ( n = 124) and Korean immigrants ( n = 124) in the United States, recruited using a quota sampling strategy. A mixed method survey utilized four hypothetical scenarios of physical, financial, and psychological abuse and neglect. A majority of participants perceived physical, financial, and psychological abuse scenarios as EM but not the neglect scenario. Multivariate analysis showed strong association between perception of mistreatment and help-seeking intention in the Korea-based cohort for all types of EM. In the immigrant cohort, help-seeking intention was associated with only the physical abuse vignette. The results suggest The U.S.

Perception and Help-Seeking Intention of Intimate Partner Violence in Later Life: An International Perspective

“…This result strongly implies that help-seeking might be guided by a complex process involving both the interplay of cultural and social factors and differences in gender. Korean elders' low intention to seek help is corroborated by previous studies that also examined various ethnic elderly groups' help-seeking behavior in the face of EM (Lee et al, 2011;Moon, Tomita, & Jung-Kamei, 2001;Moon & Williams, 1993; see also Lee, Kaplan, & Perez-Stable, this issue). In these studies, Korean elderly immigrants were consistently found to have unfavorable attitudes toward reporting abuse or receiving outside intervention.…”

“…In fact, for the Korea-based cohort, perception was found to be the only significant factor associated with help-seeking intention. This significant link of perception with help-seeking intention has been supported by prior studies in EM research among elderly Korean immigrants (Lee et al, 2011;Moon & Williams, 1993).…”

Informing Evidence-Based Practice: A Review of Research Analyzing Adult Protective Services Data

“…In addition to differences in reporting based upon professional identity Rosenblatt et al, 1996), research involving vignettes has revealed that groups differ in what they define as abusive (see, e.g., Lee et al, 2011;Moon, 2000). As the population of older adults becomes increasingly diverse, research on the definitions of mistreatment, and perceptions (and misperceptions) about APS intervention will continue to be necessary in order to improve response to the needs of abused and neglected older adults.…”

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“…The bulk of research attention on this topicwas devoted to two groups, Asian American elders (Dong, 2014; Le, 1998; Lee & Shin, 2010; Lee et al, 2011; Lee, Kaplan, & Perez-Stable, 2014; Moon et al, 1998; Moon, Tomita, & Jung-Kamei, 2002; Pablo & Braun, 1998; Yan & Tang, 2001) and African Americans (Benton, 1999; Hudson & Carlson, 1999; Shellman, 2004; Tauriac & Scruggs, 2006). Only a few empirically based research articles on the conceptualization of elder mistreatment had a primary emphasis on Latino (Franco, Gray, Gregware, & Meyer, 2000; Mitchell, Festa, Francis, Juarez, & Lamb, 1999; Paulino, 1998) or American Indian/Alaska Native elders (Hudson, Armachain, Beasley, & Carlson, 1998; Jervis, 2014).…”