The Impact of Elder Abuse Education on Young Adults

Abstract

The present study examined the effectiveness of educational interventions in altering tolerance for and behavioral intentions of elder abuse among college student young adults. Participants were 225 undergraduates who were assigned to one of four educational groups: Elder Abuse Education, Aging Education, Family Education, and a Pre- and Posttest only condition. While the Elder Abuse Education group reported less tolerance and intentions for elder abuse compared to the other groups at the immediate posttest, a decrement in such positive changes at 1-month follow-up was observed in such persons. These mixed findings suggest that while specific interventions may reduce elder abuse tolerance, supplemental educational efforts over time may be necessary to maintain intervention-specific gains in intentions and behaviors particular to elder abuse.

Global Approaches to Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Elder Abuse Prevention: A Scoping Review

“…Six articles focused on education as a point of primary prevention intervention. These articles focused on understanding knowledge gaps about elder abuse in professionals (Ahmed et al, 2016; Sharp et al, 2018; Wangmo et al, 2017), college students (Hayslip et al, 2015), and the general public (Russo et al, 2020; Stein, 2016) to increase awareness of elder abuse. Articles focused on understanding education of professionals typically discussed doctor and nurses as focal populations.…”

“…Iran (Asia) Focused on empowering older adults to increase self-efficacy, social support, and risk reduction. Hayslip et al (2015). The impact of elder abuse education on young adults.…”

Review of Programs to Combat Elder Mistreatment: Focus on Hospitals and Level of Resources Needed

“…An educational program for mental health and home care professionals demonstrated improvement in documentation of abuse and neglect risk assessment, and an educational program for social and healthcare professionals showed an increased ability to detect financial elder abuse in case scenarios . An educational program designed for the public to alter tolerance for and behavioral intentions of elder abuse showed impact in an immediate post‐test, but this did not persist at 1 month . In the MDT, cases were more likely to be referred for guardianship and criminal justice, but case resolution times were not shorter .…”

“…Target populations, settings, integration of hospitals, likelihood of deployment in low-resource environments, and attempts at program evaluation among published programs are shown in Table 4. Of the programs, 57% reported an attempt to evaluate program impact, but only two [43][44][45][46][47] (2%) were evaluated using a higher-tier quality study design and six [48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55] (5%) were evaluated using a middle-tier quality study design. Of those with a highquality study design, both were psychoeducational/therapeutic/counseling, one for older adults and the other for informal/family caregivers.…”

Intergenerational Transmission of Physical and Emotional Sibling Violence: A Potential Connection to Elder Abuse

“…It is possible that addressing physical and emotional sibling violence early in child development may serve as a preventative mechanism for the occurrence of elder abuse. Hayslip, Reinberg, and Williams (2015) note that “attitudes are learned through society and its influences, such as family or peers. Elder abuse attitudes are also probably formed from these sources, and perhaps are specifically derived from attitudes toward older people and attitudes toward family violence” (p. 249).…”