Social Judgments of Responsibility in Elder Self-Neglect Cases

Abstract

In this study, 1,038 case judgments made by 26 adult protective service (APS) workers in the United States were examined using hypothetical elder self-neglect vignettes. The independent variables used to construct realistic vignettes were based on the relevant literature, the law in the jurisdiction being studied, and other practical considerations. The factorial survey method was used in the vignette construction phase, and multiple regression was used for analysis. The independent variables of age, household income, disability, family presence and involvement, and the form and consequence of the self-neglect revealed statistically significant findings, but the main effect rested with the social perception of disability in assigning responsibility. Over 25% of the variance was explained in the model, the majority of which could be attributed to the victim's disability. The findings indicate that judgment of responsibility was almost entirely due to the perception of the victim's disability. Responsibility, in the present study and as applied to elder self-neglect in general, seems to be a unidimensional social judgment phenomenon.

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