Typology of Family Relationship and Elder Mistreatment in a US Chinese Population

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations between typology of family relationship and risk of elder mistreatment (EM). DESIGN: Population-based epidemiological cross-sectional study. SETTING: Community-dwelling older adults in the greater Chicago area. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3157 US older Chinese immigrants. MEASUREMENTS: EM was measured by a brief screening tool. Latent class analysis was used to construct typologies of family relationship from eight indicators, evaluating the structural, associational, functional, affectual, and normative aspects of family relationship. Logistic regression models were used to test the associations between typology of family relationship and EM. RESULTS: Unobligated ambivalent type (44.77%) was the most common family type among US older Chinese immigrants. The prevalence of EM was around 15%, with 475 participants reporting experience of EM. Unobligated ambivalent (odds ratio [OR] = 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.54-2.34) and detached (OR = 1.78; 95% CI = 1.32-2.42) family types were associated with greater risk of EM; tight-knit (OR = .34; 95% CI = .27-.44) family type was associated with lower risk of EM. The relationship between commanding conflicted family type and EM was not significant. CONCLUSION: Unobligated ambivalent family type, featured by high emotional closeness and high family conflict, was prevalent among US Chinese families and associated with EM consequences. Culturally customized social services are suggested to reduce intergenerational ambivalence and promote family harmony for immigrant families. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:S493-S498, 2019.

Life Course Violence: Child Maltreatment, IPV, and Elder Abuse Phenotypes in a US Chinese Population

“…In the context of immigration and traditional Confucian filial piety, adult children are often primary caregivers of older adults in a family. We suspect that familial factors such as children caregiver burden, acculturation discrepancy, and the intergenerational gap may play particularly important roles in caregiving among Chinese families …”

An integrative review of comprehensive nursing assessment tools developed based on Gordon's Eleven Functional Health Patterns

“…Role-Relationship Pattern: Dysfunction in this FHP, such as lack of participation in social activities, and the typology of family relationships has been associated with increased risk of death and a higher risk of elder mistreatment (Li et al, 2019;Tanaka et al, 2018). Unpleasant symptoms may negatively affect this FHP (Philpot et al, 2020).…”

Association Between Different Forms of Elder Mistreatment and Cognitive Change

“…According to the estimated number of Asian Americans in 2017, the Chinese population (5.2 million) constitutes the largest segment of the Asian American population (United States Census Bureau, 2017). US Chinese older adults rely heavily on their families due to language and cultural barriers, which put them at a higher risk to experience EM (Dong, 2015; Dong et al, 2017; Li, Chen et al, 2020, Li, Guo et al, 2020; Li & Dong, 2018a; Li et al, 2019b). The purpose of the present study was to add to this growing body of knowledge by addressing the relationship between EM and cognitive change with two-wave panel data among US Chinese older adults.…”