title: Loneliness and mistreatment of older Chinese women: does social support matter?
abstract: The objectives of this study are to: (a) examine the association of loneliness and mistreatment of older Chinese women, and (b) examine the potential modifying effect of social support on these associations. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 141 elderly women presented to an urban medical center. After adjusting for confounders, every 1-point increase in the loneliness score was associated with 44% increased risk for mistreatment. After adding the interaction of social support (social support x loneliness), loneliness was no longer associated with increased risk for mistreatment. Loneliness is a significant risk factor for mistreatment of older Chinese women. Greater social support, particularly perceived social support, may modify loneliness as a risk factor for the mistreatment of older Chinese women.
authors.affiliation: Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush University Medical Center, 1645 West Jackson Street, Suite 675, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. xinqi_dong@rush.edu
authors.forename: XinQi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires