NCJ Number
221821
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 18 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2003 Pages: 999-1017
Date Published
September 2003
Length
19 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this study was to determine the rates of proclivity to (inclination towards) elder abuse in Hong Kong and to explore the associations among proclivity to elder abuse, attitudinal variables, and childhood experience of abuse.
Abstract
The study showed that about 20 percent of the participants would commit abusive behaviors against an elderly person given there was no social sanction. Thus, the present findings on proclivity rates (tendency rates) and previous research on prevalence rates converged to indicate the increasing vulnerability of elderly Chinese as victims of violence and abuse in contemporary Chinese societies. The study also suggests that childhood experience of family violence, negative attitudes toward elderly people, and changes in social and cultural values were significant predictors of people’s likelihood to elder abuse. Despite the availability of studies on elder abuse prevalence rates in Chinese societies, there is a relatively low level of attention to elder abuse among Chinese. This study aimed to provide preliminary estimates on proclivity or tendency to elder abuse and to determine the effectiveness of the intergenerational transmission of violence and ecological theories in predicting elder abuse in contemporary Chinese societies. Participants in the study consisted of 464 males and females residing in Hong Kong who completed a questionnaire on attitudes toward elderly people, modernity, and filial piety, as well as childhood experiences of abuse and proclivity to elder abuse. Tables, references