TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychological abuse and its characteristic correlates among elderly Taiwanese
AU - Wang, Jing Jy
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the National Science Council of the Republic of China, Taiwan for financially supporting this research under Contract No. NSC 92-2314-B-242-003.
PY - 2006/5
Y1 - 2006/5
N2 - This study examined the prevalence of psychological abuse and identified individual characteristics associated with different levels of psychological abuse in a group of randomly selected elderly Taiwanese. A cross-sectional design was performed that utilized a descriptive-correlational approach. Data for this study were gathered from several communities in southern Taiwan. The sample comprised 195 elderly Taiwanese aged 60 years or older, capable of verbal communication, and partially dependent on a caregiver. The Psychological Elder Abuse Scale (PEAS), the Short Portable Mental State Questionnaire (SPMSQ), and the Barthel's Index were used for data collection. The findings demonstrated that the PEAS score range was 0-24 (mean 6.32 ± 4.6). Moreover, 44 subjects (22.6%) had scores of ten or greater. The most frequently reported indicators in the PEAS were "wishes to see family members unfulfilled" and "economic dependence on others". The analytical results also showed that the SPMSQ and Barthel's Index scores were strongly related to the PEAS score (p < 0.001), indicating psychological abuse appeared higher among elderly people with lower cognitive and physical functioning. The findings of this study are crucial in developing a national system for protecting the elderly, and a continuing educational plan is required for enforcing communication between caregivers and elders.
AB - This study examined the prevalence of psychological abuse and identified individual characteristics associated with different levels of psychological abuse in a group of randomly selected elderly Taiwanese. A cross-sectional design was performed that utilized a descriptive-correlational approach. Data for this study were gathered from several communities in southern Taiwan. The sample comprised 195 elderly Taiwanese aged 60 years or older, capable of verbal communication, and partially dependent on a caregiver. The Psychological Elder Abuse Scale (PEAS), the Short Portable Mental State Questionnaire (SPMSQ), and the Barthel's Index were used for data collection. The findings demonstrated that the PEAS score range was 0-24 (mean 6.32 ± 4.6). Moreover, 44 subjects (22.6%) had scores of ten or greater. The most frequently reported indicators in the PEAS were "wishes to see family members unfulfilled" and "economic dependence on others". The analytical results also showed that the SPMSQ and Barthel's Index scores were strongly related to the PEAS score (p < 0.001), indicating psychological abuse appeared higher among elderly people with lower cognitive and physical functioning. The findings of this study are crucial in developing a national system for protecting the elderly, and a continuing educational plan is required for enforcing communication between caregivers and elders.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.archger.2005.08.006
DO - 10.1016/j.archger.2005.08.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 16214246
AN - SCOPUS:33645236892
SN - 0167-4943
VL - 42
SP - 307
EP - 318
JO - Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
JF - Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
IS - 3
ER -