Table 1.
Prevalence Estimates of Elder Abuse According to Population, Survey Method, and Definition
| Author, Year | Population | Age; Sex; Race and Ethnicity | Survey Method | Participation rate, % | Measure | No. item | Cutoff Points | Prevalence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North/South America | ||||||||
| Dong, 201433 | 3,159 elderly Chinese In Chicago | ≥60; 58.9% female | In person | 91.9 | H-S/EAST, VASS | 10 | ≥1 Items | 15.0% since age 60 |
| Dong, 201433 | 3,159 elderly Chinese In Chicago | ≥60; 58.9% female | In person | 91.9 | CTS; caregiver neglect assessment; financial exploitation assessment | 56 | a | 13.9–25.8% since age 60 |
| Deliema, 201214 | 198 Hlspanics In Los Angeles | ≥66; 56% female | In person | 65 | University of Southern California Older Adult Conflict Scale | 54 | ≥1 items | 1-year, 40.4%; multiple, 21% |
| Dong, 201258 | 4,627 adults in Chicago | ≥65; 64.4% female | In person | N/A | Chicago Elder Self-Neglect Scale | 21 | ≥1 Items | Black: men, 13.2%; women, 10.9% White: men, 2.4%; women, 2.6% |
| Lachs, 201154 | 4, 156 English- or Spanish-speaking community; cognitively Intact older New Yorkers | 60–101; 35.5% female; 19.0% black, 75.5% white, 6.0% Hispanic, 0.8% American Indian, 1.2% Asian | Telephone | N/A | CTS | 31 | a | 14.1% since age 60 |
| Acierno, 20103 | 5,777 cognitively intact U.S. community population | 60–97, 60% female; 88% white, 7% black, 4% Hispanic, 2% American Indian, 1% Asian | Random-diglt dialing and computer-assisted interview | 69 | Interpersonal Violence Measure and Acierno EM Measure | 22 | ≥1 items | Any elder abuse (exclude financial): 10% |
| Wiglesworth, 201023 | 129 older adults with dementia and their caregiver; | 77.1 ± 8.0; 45.7% female; 93.8 white, 8.5% Hispanic | In-person survey of caregivers | N/A | CTS, Elder Abuse Instrument, Self-Neglect Assessment Scale | NA | a | 1-year 47.3%; multiple, 14.6%. |
| Beach, 201037 | 903 U.S. community-dwelling older adults with landline, English-speaking, no severe cognitive Impairment | ≥60; 73.3% female; 23.3% black, 72.8% white, 3.9% other | Random-dlgit dialing, In-person, self-administered | 37.7 | Modified CTS | 12 | a | 6-month financial exploitation, 3.5%; 6-month psychological mistreatment, 8.2% |
| Laumann, 200817 | 3,005 older adults In the National, Social Life, Health and Aging project | 57–85; 51.2% female; 80.7% white, 10.0% black; 6.8% Hispanic; 2.5% other | In-person and mall survey | 75.5 | H-S/EAST, VASS | 3 | ≥1 Items | 1-year: verbal, 9%; financial, 3.5%; physical, 0.2% |
| Buri, 200681 | 498 older adults In the Iowa Medicaid Waiver Program | 65–101; 70.9% female; 96% white, 3% black | Mail survey | 49 | Elder Abuse Screen | 5 | ≥1 items | 20.9%: 1 type, 15.8%; 2 types, 4.0%; 3 types, 1.0% |
| Europe | ||||||||
| Lindert, 201319 | 4,467 older adults from seven countries in Europe | 60–84; 57.3% female | In-person and mail survey | 45.2 | Modified CTS | 52 | ≥1 Items | 1-year, 12.7–30.8% |
| Naughton, 201124 | 2,021 community-dwelling older people In Ireland | ≥65; 55% female | In person | 83 | CTS, UK and NY prevalence studies | NA | a | 1-year, 2.2% |
| Kissai, 201182 | 331 older adults In Izmir, Turkey | ≥65; 56.8% female | In person | N/A | Investigator-determined | 5 | a | 6-month, 13.3% |
| Biggs, 200983 | 2,111 older adults In the community In United Kingdom | ≥66 | In person | 65 | Built on literature | 34 | a | 2.6% with neglect; 1.6% without neglect |
| Ajdukovic, 200925 | 303 older adults in Croatia | 65–97; 76.6% female | In person | NA | Elder Abuse in the Family questionnaire | 20 | NA | 1-year, 61.1% |
| Cooper, 200984 | 220 UK caregivers of people with dementia | 58–99, 72% female | In person | 69 | Modified CTS | 10 | Score ≥2 | 3-month, 52% |
| Garre-Olmo, 200985 | 676 community-dwelling older adults In Girona, Spain | ≥75; 58.2% female. | In person | 82 | AMA Screen | 9 | ≥1 Items | 1-year, 29.3%; 2 types, 3.6%; 3 types, 0.1% |
| Perez Carceles, 200886 | 460 older adults in health center in Spain | ≥65; 53.3% female | In person | N/A | Canadian Task Force, AMA Screen | 19 | ≥1 items | 44.6% |
| Comijs, 199831,32 | 1,797 older people living Independently In Amsterdam, the Netherlands | 69–89; 62.8% female | Interview | 44.4 | CTS, Measure of Wife Abuse, Violence Against Man Scale | NA | a | 1-year, 5.6%; ≥2 types, 0.4% |
| Asia/Austria | ||||||||
| Wu, 201221 | 2,039 Chinese older adults in rural China | ≥60; 59.9% female | In person | 90.8 | H-S/EAST, VASS | NA | ≥1 Items | 1-year, 36.2%; ≥2 types, 10.5% |
| Somjinda Chompunud, 201087 | 233 cognitively functioning older adults in Thailand | 60–90; 73.4% female | In person | 73.3 | Interview guideline for screening for elder abuse | 6 | ≥1 items | 1-year, 14.6%; 1 time, 9.9%; ≥2 times, 4.7% |
| Lowenstein, 200927 | 1,045 community-living older adults from the first national survey In Israel | ≥65; 62.5% female | In person | 75 | CTS2, short situational descriptions, Respondents’ Reactions to Aggression | NA | a | 1-year, 35.0% |
| Oh, 200922 | 15,230 older adults In Seoul, Korea | ≥65; 65.3% female | In person | N/A | Compiled through literature | 25 | ≥2 times | 1-month, 6.3% |
| Lee, 200888 | 1,000 primary caregivers of family members with disabilities In Seoul, Korea | 65–102; 69.5% female | In person | N/A | N/A | 6 | a | Not answered question, 10.5%; yelled, 10.9%; confined, 18%; hit, 9.7%; neglected, 13.6% |
| Dong, 200744 | 412 cognitively intact community-living persons from medical clinics in China | ≥60, 34% female | Self-administered survey | 82.4 | H-S/EAST, VASS | 13 | ≥1 items | 35.2% since age 60; 1 type, 64%; 2 types, 16%; ≥3 types, 20% |
| Sasaki, 200789 | 412 pairs of disabled older adults and family caregivers in Japan | Mean 80.5, 60.1% female | Self-administrated survey | 70.0 | Checklist developed by literature | 9 | ≥1 Items | 6-month, 34.9% |
| Chokkanathan, 200626 | 400 community-living cognitively intact older adults In India | ≥65; 49.5% female | In person | 80 | CTS | 18 | a | 1-year, 14% |
| Yan, 200131 | 355 community-living older adults In Hong Kong, China | ≥60; 62% female | Self-administered | N/A | Revised CTS | 25 | ≥1 items | 1-year, 21.4%; types, 17.1% multiple |
| Africa | ||||||||
| Cadmus, 201220 | 404 elderly women In Oyo state, southwestern Nigeria | ≥60; 100% female; 100% Yoruba | Semistructured questionnaires | N/A | Standardized questionnaire developed by World Health Organization | 18 | Score ≥1 | 1-year, 30% |
| Rahman, 201228 | 1,106 older adults living at home In rural area of Mansoura city, Dakahilia Governate, Egypt | ≥60; 53.2% female | In-person interview | 95.3 | Questionnaire to elicit abuse | 15 | ≥1 Items | 1-year, 43.7%; 1 type, 35.4%; 2 types, 3.8%; 3 types, 3.8%; 4 types, 0.6% |
For detailed table on the definitional criteria for specific subtypes of elder abuse and its prevalence, see online Table S1.
a
Cutoff varies according to subtype of abuse and more detailed information regarding the cut-off point of each type of abuse please see the appendix.
H-S/EAST = Hwalek-Sengstok Elder Abuse Screening Test; VASS = Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale; CTS = Conflict Tactics Scale; AM A = American Medical Association, N/A = not applicable.