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New Research: 40 Percent of
Elderly Latinos Abused
Published
in Public News Service
July 30, 2012
A new study of
elderly, low-income Latinos reveals significantly
higher rates of abuse, neglect and exploitation
than previous estimates. The report's lead author,
Marguerite DeLiema, University of Southern
California Davis School of Gerontology, says that,
at first glance, abuse of Latino seniors appears
to be almost four times more prevalent than elder
abuse in the general population.
"One in 10 older adults suffers from some form of
abuse, neglect or exploitation. Our study was much
higher. We found 40 percent of the Latino
population reported at least one form of elder
abuse."
She thinks it's possible that her research - based
on detailed, in-person interviews by community
members - reflects a higher elder abuse rate among
the population at large than past studies have
been able to document. She says mistreatment need
not be physical to qualify as abuse. Family
members may repeatedly threaten to send seniors to
nursing homes, or take advantage of financial
vulnerabilities.
The study calls into question past assumptions
that elderly Latinos are shielded from abuse by
cultural norms, such as family loyalty. Sometimes
solidarity just leads to silence, according to
Sandra Garcia Huhn, staff attorney with the Texas
Legal Services Center Elder Exploitation Project.
"I think that there is a reluctance by the
Hispanic community to discuss problems outside of
the family. A lot of times when there is abuse or
exploitation they're not reporting it, because
they want to protect the family member."
The new study found that about 10 percent of those
surveyed revealed physical abuse, 17 percent had
been exploited financially, and 12 percent had
been neglected by caretakers. But only 1.5 percent
of all victims had ever reported the abuse to
authorities or service organizations.
Huhn thinks traditional close-knit families who
might resist seeking outside help do have an
advantage when it comes to protecting seniors
against exploitation by outside scammers who tend
to prey upon elderly people living alone.
"Sometimes isolation makes it easier for a
perpetrator to take advantage of a senior. So, the
cohesiveness of the family is not always going to
be a negative."
She encourages Texas seniors or concerned loved
ones to call the toll-free Elder Exploitation
Hotline to find out about a variety of resources
for victims of scams, financial manipulation or
physical, sexual and emotional abuse. That number
is 888-612-6626.
Information about the study is available at
http://bit.ly/NNYACb. The TEEP website is based at
www.tlsc.org.
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