Thirteen scenarios were used to measure and compare the perceptions of elder abuse and help-seeking behaviors of African-American, Caucasian American, and Korean-American elderly women. Significant group differences existed in their perceptions of elder abuse with regard to six scenarios, and the Korean-American women were substantially less likely to perceive a given situation as abusive than the other groups. The three groups also showed significant differences in their intended use of formal and informal sources of help in the case of elder abuse.

The purpose of this study is to examine racial/ethnic differences in the change of psychological distress as measured by CES-D over time and its associated factors between older Korean immigrants and non-Hispanic White elders, based on a social stress perspective. Data come from a two-wave panel survey of 172 older Korean immigrants and 157 non-Hispanic White elders, with a follow-up period of 12 to 15 months. The sample was drawn from a three-stage probability sampling method. Ordinary least square regressions in a hierarchical process and change score method were used to analyze the two-wave panel data. Older Korean immigrants reported higher levels of psychological distress than the non-Hispanic White elderly at both Time 1 and Time 2. Changes in self-assessed health status and functional limitations were significantly associated with change in psychological distress for both ethnic groups. Increased social support significantly decreased psychological distress at Time 2, for older Korean immigrants only. This study discusses practice and policy implications for service and interventions for older immigrants to assist their adjustment to a host society.

This article presents a comparative analysis of the level of awareness and utilization of 15 community-based long-term care services by 213 elderly Korean and 201 non-Hispanic White Americans. We found extremely low levels of awareness and utilization of long-term health and social services among Korean Americans, in both absolute and relative terms. This finding challenges the success of the Older Americans Act, an important funding source of those services, in meeting its stated objectives to increase service availability and delivery to minority elders and socioeconomically disadvantaged elders. Strategies for effective outreach and public education efforts are also discussed.

This study examined predictors of depression in a sample of 95 elderly Korean immigrants aged 60 or over. Depression among Korean immigrants was hypothesized to be associated with socio-demographic and cultural factors, including health status, gender, education, financial status, acculturation level, familism, social support, especially from the family, and family relationships. A face-to-face interview was conducted in Korean using a structured questionnaire. Depression in this study was measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression (CES-D) Scale. A substantial percentage of the sample was experiencing a high level of depression. The mean score on the CES-D scale was 15.1, slightly below 16, a cut-off score for clinical depression, and almost 40% of the respondents scored 16 or above on the scale, indicating a high rate of clinical depression for the study sample. In multiple regression analyses, perceived health status and education were significant predictors among socio-demographic factors. Among cultural factors, acculturation status was not a significant predictor; however, positive support from the family and family relationships were significantly associated with depression. The role of family as a risk factor for depression in older Korean immigrants and implications for mental health policy, programs, and future research are discussed.

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