Most prevalent type of elder abuse and its correlation with elder depression

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the most prevalent type of elder abuse in S. Korea. This study also examined which type of elder abuse most affected elder depression and then discussed social countermeasures toward the prevalent types of elder abuse. Methods:Thiswasadescriptivestudyandthedatawerecollectedviaaconveniencesamplingmethod.Seventy-sevenstudyparticipantswere60years old or above and did not have mental disabilities or depression disorder.Five different types of elder abuse (verbal,emotional,physical,financial,and neglect)weremeasuredalongwiththeirdepressivesymptoms.DescriptivestatisticswereusedtodeterminethemostprevalenttypeofelderabuseinS. Korea.Also,bivariatecorrelationandmultipleregressionwereutilizedtounderstandtherelationshipbetweentypesofelderabuseandelderdepression. Results: Among the five types of elder abuse, verbal, emotional, and neglect abuse were more prevalent than physical and financial abuse. According to the bivariate analysis, emotional abuse and verbal abuse were significantly related with elder depression. Conclusion: Invisible types of elder abuse such as emotional, verbal, and neglect abuse were more prevalent than visible types such as financial and physical abuse. These abuse types were also significantly correlated with elder depression. This study warrants future interventional studies to improve elders’ perception of elder abuse and thus prevent the development of elder depression.