Journal of Applied Gerontology, Ahead of Print.
The current study attempts to estimate the prevalence rate of, and factors associated with, elder abuse in Ontario, Canada. The data for this study was collected using a cross-sectional study design, which involved a Qualtrics survey. Various recruitment strategies were used to reach respondents, including Facebook advertisements, email listservs, and a Qualtrics research panel. The sample size consisted of 933 adults. The analysis for this study focused on 361 respondents aged 51 years and older. The prevalence rate of abuse was found to be 16.1% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hierarchical logistic regression results revealed that the model’s explanatory fit improved significantly after including family- and community variables. Factors that significantly increased vulnerability to abuse were male gender, living with others, family conflicts, ageism, loneliness, and COVID-19-related stressors. Innovative multisectoral and multilevel interventions are needed to prevent and deal with elder abuse during pandemics.