Abstract

This chapter investigates gender differences in the prevalence of and the factors associated with abuse among Vietnamese older people. Utilizing the 2011 Vietnam Aging Survey, a nationally representative survey on aging in Vietnam, we found that the prevalence of elder abuse was higher for older women than for their male counterparts, but there were no gender differences in the likelihood of being abused in multiple logistic regression models for the full sample, controlling for other factors. However, for gender stratification samples, we observed gender differences in the factors associated with the probability of being abused. Specifically, locality of residence, financial contribution to the household, the number of children, and household income were important factors determining the likelihood of being abused for older men, while marital status and education were more important predictors of elder abuse for older women. Findings of this chapter provide empirical evidence based on the determinants of elder abuse, which are largely unexplored in Vietnam. This chapter also highlights the need for policies to tackle issues related to abuse at old ages in order to achieve healthy aging.