13% Older Americans Report Mistreatment

As many as 13% of all Americans between the ages of 57 and 85 say they’ve been mistreated verbally, financially, or physically at some point during the past year. The finding is said to be very helpful as the medical establishment learns more effective ways of dealing with the country’s aging population.

Edward Laumann, professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, says his study is different from many others of a similar nature because he went straight to the people themselves for responses to a survey whereas other studies analyzed data taken from welfare agencies and the criminal justice system. The current issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences features the findings of Laumann’s study.

The National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), a National Institutes of Health project, conducted a random survey of 3,005 adults in 2005 and 2006, part of which contained these three questions upon which the Laumann study is based:

- Verbal - “Is there anyone who insults you or puts you down?”
- Financial - “Is there anyone who has taken your money or belongings without your OK or prevented you from getting them, even when you ask?”
- Physical - “Is there anyone who hits, kicks, slaps or throws things at you?”

Ethnic and gender disparities were revealed in the responses:

- Whites were more than twice as likely to report verbal mistreatment as Latinos were.
- Latinos were 78% less likely to claim financial mistreatment than whites.
- Blacks were 77% more likely than whites to claim financial mistreatment.
- Females were more likely to report verbal mistreatment than men.
- Females also reported a greater degree of financial mistreatment than men.

Other findings include:

- Older people who suffer from physical vulnerabilities were 13% more apt to report verbal mistreatment than those without physical issues.
- More verbal and financial mistreatment was reported by people in their late 50s and 60s than those who were older.
- 26% said the verbal mistreatment came from their spouse or romantic partner.
- 15% reported verbal mistreatment from their children.
- The remaining 59% said the verbal abuse came from a boss, co-worker, neighbor, or friend.
- 57% of those reporting financial mistreatment said the person who mistreated them was a relative other than a spouse, child, or parent.

Overall, 9% of the survey respondents reported verbal mistreatment while 3.5% reported financial mistreatment and only 0.2% reported physical mistreatment.

The research team calls on the medical community to increase awareness of the potential for mistreatment in the older population and more sensitive handling of such issues when they do become apparent.

The National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Aging, The Office of AIDS Research, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and the Office of Research on Women’s Health all provided support for the Laumann study. The National Opinion Research Center conducted the survey and also helped support the project.

Source: University of Chicago

Filed under: Elderly Care