| Popis: |
Financial exploitation is one of the most common and fastest growing subtypes of elder abuse. Prior studies indicate financial exploitation may be associated with adverse health outcomes. This study aims to explore the associations between differential definitions of financial exploitation and psychological distress among U.S. Chinese older adults. Data are derived from the PINE study, a representative sample of 3,157 community-dwelling U.S. Chinese older adults age 60 and above. Financial exploitation was measured using broad (17-item) and more restrictive (14-item) definitions. Psychological distress was measured by depressive symptoms, perceived stress, loneliness, and anxiety. Logistic regression was used to test independent association while adjusting for sociodemographic, socioeconomic, immigration, family structure, and medical comorbidities. Average age was 72.8 (SD=8.3) with 58.9% women. Under the broad definition, 9.2% reported any financial exploitation and for the restrictive definition, 8.7% had reported any financial exploitation. In the fully adjusted model, older adults reporting financial exploitation under the broad definition were more likely to report loneliness (OR, 1.60 [1.22–2.09]) and anxiety (OR: 1.57 [1.18–2.09)) but not perceived stress (OR: 2.18 [0.94–5.05)) or depressive symptoms (OR: 1.14 [0.88–1.47]). Older adults reporting financial exploitation under the more restrictive definition were more likely to report perceived stress (OR: 2.45 [1.02,6.36]), loneliness (OR: 1.60 [1.21,2.11]) and anxiety (OR: 1.53 [1.47,2.04]), but not depressive symptoms (OR: 1.16 [0.89–1.51]). Differential definitions of financial exploitation had differential associations with different forms of psychological distress among U.S. Chinese older adults. Future longitudinal studies should investigate the causal relationships between financial exploitation and psychological distress. |
