Examining Adult Protective Services Outcomes: Services Associated With the Decrease of Mistreatment Differed by Elder Mistreatment Type.

Background And Objectives: Adult Protective Services (APS) are the frontline agencies investigating elder mistreatment and providing/coordinating postinvestigation services. Yet, their effectiveness in reducing different types of mistreatment in relation to services is unknown. This study aimed to address the knowledge gap by identifying services provided by mistreatment type, and examining the associations of services with mistreatment reduction.

Convivir (to Coexist) and Other Insights: Results From the Positive Aging for Latinos Study.

Many Latinos in the United States do not have access to culturally sensitive services to help them age well. We combined community-based participatory research with concept mapping methods to understand how a sample of community-dwelling Latino older adults view positive aging. Nine focus groups ( = 101) generated 85 non-repeating statements, which were used to produce a final map with 11 clusters, organized into four overarching regions: (To Coexist), Self-Sufficiency, Perspectives on Life, and Healthy Behaviors.

Balancing practicality and validity of elder abuse identification measures: using data from adult protective services investigations.

. In testing a comprehensive decision support system for Adult Protective Services (APS), this study addressed two problems common in APS research and practice: the psychometric quality of the measures and measurement burden. .

Stakeholders' Ideas About Positive Aging for Latinos: A Conceptual Map.

Few studies explore the differences between diverse stakeholders' understandings of what constitutes "positive aging" for Latino older adults. To address this gap, we worked with a 20-member steering committee (SC) of community stakeholders to collect concept mapping data from 38 scholars and community workers. We generated 90 statements related to positive aging from the literature and produced concept maps based on four different stakeholder groups' ratings of them.

Can standardized measures provide helpful feedback about adult protective services substantiation? Pilot data from a short self-neglect assessment.

Can standardized assessment contribute to improving Adult Protective Services (APS) practice? In this exploratory study, San Francisco and Napa APS utilized a newly developed short self-neglect assessment to test how standardized measures provide information for substantiation decision making. Findings demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity for the short self-neglect assessment, and analyses revealed important issues that could improve practice. Review of outliers revealed: (1) problems using the assessment tool, (2) misunderstandings of APS procedures, and (3) struggles navigating the case management system.

Abuser Risk Measure: Reports by Alleged Victims to Adult Protective Services.

Background And Objectives: Within the elder abuse field, research on the characteristics of the abusers is scant, and no validated measure of abuser risk exists. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the Abuser Risk Measure (ARM).

Research Design And Methods: The Rasch measurement model and traditional psychometrics were used on a sample of 425 elder abuse cases that completed an elder abuse investigation and had a substantiation decision (yes/no).

Validation of the MedUseQ: A Self-Administered Screener for Older Adults to Assess Medication Use Problems.

Background: Older adults taking multiple prescription and nonprescription drugs are at risk for medication use problems, yet there are few brief, self-administered screening tools designed specifically for them.

Objective: The study objective was to develop and validate a patient-centered screener for community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: In phase 1, a convenience sample of 57 stakeholders (older adults, pharmacists, nurses, and physicians) participated in concept mapping, using Concept System® Global MAX, to identify items for a questionnaire.

Development of short-form measures to assess four types of elder mistreatment: Findings from an evidence-based study of APS elder abuse substantiation decisions.

Improving the standardization and efficiency of adult protective services (APS) investigations is a top priority in APS practice. Using data from the Elder Abuse Decision Support System (EADSS), we developed short-form measures of four types of elder abuse: financial, emotional/psychological, physical, and neglect. The EADSS data set contains 948 elder abuse cases (age 60+) with yes/no abuse substantiation decisions for each abuse type following a 30-day investigation.

The Importance of Investigating Abuser Characteristics in Elder Emotional/Psychological Abuse: Results from Adult Protective Services Data.

Objectives: Elder emotional/psychological abuse is the infliction of mental anguish on older adults through verbal or non-verbal acts. Using indicators based on existing literature, theoretically important abuser characteristics and victim vulnerabilities were collected using the Elder Abuse Decision Support System (EADSS) to test a theory of emotional/psychological abuse.

Method: Eight-hundred-and-ten alleged emotional/psychological abuse cases were investigated by caseworkers in six Illinois adult protective services (APS) agencies; 466 individuals endorsed at least one item on the Older Adult Psychological Abuse Measure (OAPAM).

Elder Abuse Decision Support System: Field test outcomes, abuse measure validation, and lessons learned.

The Elder Abuse Decision Support System was designed to meet the critical need for improved methods for assessment and substantiation of elder mistreatment, using a web-based system with standardized measures. Six Illinois agencies participated in the field test. One-year pre/post analyses assessed substantiation results, using Illinois' standard investigation procedure as a comparison.

Examining the Role of Substance Abuse in Elder Mistreatment: Results From Mistreatment Investigations.

Substance abuse has long been identified as a risk factor for elder mistreatment, yet research on the topic remains sparse. This study tested hypotheses whether perpetrator and victim substance use problems were associated with financial exploitation, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect versus no abuse. Cross-sectional data were collected on 948 cases with yes/no substantiation decisions where 357 cases had no abuse in elder mistreatment investigations.

Validation of the Full and Short-Form Self-Help Involvement Scale Against the Rasch Measurement Model.

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are one of the nation's most costly problems in terms of dollars, disability, and death. Self-help programs are among the varied recovery support options available to address SUD, and evaluation of these programs depends on good measurement. There exists an unmet need for a psychometrically sound, brief, efficient measure of self-help involvement for individuals with SUD that is valid across different substances and age-groups.

Observational measure of elder self-neglect.

The purpose of this study was to improve measurement of elder self-neglect by testing the psychometric properties of the Elder Self-Neglect Assessment (ESNA). Social workers, case managers, and adult protective services providers from 13 Illinois agencies completed a 77-item assessment for 215 clients suffering from self neglect. Analyses used Rasch item response theory and traditional validation approaches to test for dimensionality, model fit, and additional construct validation, resulting in a 62-item assessment.

Using the Rasch measurement model in psychometric analysis of the Family Effectiveness Measure.

Background: Valid assessment of family functioning can play a vital role in optimizing client outcomes. Because family functioning is influenced by family structure, socioeconomic context, and culture, existing measures of family functioning-primarily developed with nuclear, middle-class European American families-may not be valid assessments of families in diverse populations. The Family Effectiveness Measure was developed to address this limitation.

A review of the foot function index and the foot function index - revised.

Background: The Foot Function Index (FFI) is a self-report, foot-specific instrument measuring pain and disability and has been widely used to measure foot health for over twenty years. A revised FFI (FFI-R) was developed in response to criticism of the FFI. The purpose of this review was to assess the uses of FFI and FFI-R as were reported in medical and surgical literature and address the suggestions found in the literature to improve the metrics of FFI-R.

Dimensionality, hierarchical structure, age generalizability, and criterion validity of the GAIN's Behavioral Complexity Scale.

This study used Rasch measurement model criteria and traditional psychometric strategies to examine key psychometric properties of the Behavioral Complexity Scale (BCS), a widely used measure of externalizing disorders that focuses on attention deficit, hyperactivity, and conduct disorders. With a sample of 7,435 persons being screened for substance use disorders, the BCS was found to (a) be unidimensional, (b) have a hierarchical severity structure, (c) be generalizable to both youths and adults, and (d) meet hypothesized correlations with criterion variables. The BCS performed well as a unidimensional measure.

Conceptual model and map of financial exploitation of older adults.

This article describes the processes and outcomes of three-dimensional concept mapping to conceptualize financial exploitation of older adults. Statements were generated from a literature review and by local and national panels consisting of 16 experts in the field of financial exploitation. These statements were sorted and rated using Concept Systems software, which grouped the statements into clusters and depicted them as a map.

Conceptual model and map of psychological abuse of older adults.

Psychological abuse of older adults is a hidden and pervasive problem that is not well conceptualized nor well measured. Goals. The goals were to (a) conceptualize psychological abuse using three-dimensional concept maps, and (b) develop theoretical models.

Self-report measure of psychological abuse of older adults.

Purpose: This study tested key psychometric properties of the Older Adult Psychological Abuse Measure (OAPAM), one self-report scale of the Older Adult Mistreatment Assessment (OAMA).

Design And Methods: Items and theory were developed in a prior concept mapping study. Subsequently, the measures were administered to 226 substantiated clients by 22 elder abuse staff from 7 agencies in a full-scale field test.

A Comparison of Content-Balancing Procedures for Estimating Multiple Clinical Domains in Computerized Adaptive Testing: Relative Precision, Validity, and Detection of Persons With Misfitting Responses.

This simulation study sought to compare four different computerized adaptive testing (CAT) content balancing procedures designed for use in a multidimensional assessment with respect to measurement precision, symptom severity classification; validity of clinical diagnostic recommendations; and sensitivity to atypical responding. The four content balancing procedures were: (1) no content balancing, (2) Screener-based, (3) Mixed (Screener plus content balancing), and (4) Full content balancing. In Full content balancing and in Mixed content balancing following administration of the screener items, item selection was based on: (1) whether the target number of items for the item's subscale was reached, and (2) the item's information function.

Self-report measure of financial exploitation of older adults.

Purpose: this study was designed to improve the measurement of financial exploitation (FE) by testing psychometric properties of the older adult financial exploitation measure (OAFEM), a client self-report instrument.

Design And Methods: rasch item response theory and traditional validation approaches were used. Questionnaires were administered by 22 adult protective services investigators from 7 agencies in Illinois to 227 substantiated abuse clients.

Validation of the Crime and Violence Scale (CVS) against the Rasch measurement model including differences by gender, race, and age.

In assessing criminality, researchers have used counts of crimes, arrests, and so on, because interval measures were not available. Additionally, crime seriousness varies depending on demographic factors. This study examined the Crime and Violence Scale (CVS) regarding psychometric quality using item response theory (IRT) and invariance of the crime seriousness hierarchy for gender, age, and racial/ethnic groups on 7,435 respondents.

The development of a conceptual model for understanding elder self-neglect.

Purpose: Elder self-neglect (ESN) represents half or more of all cases reported to adult protective services. ESN directly affects older adults and also their families, neighbors, and the larger communities around them. ESN has public health implications and is associated with higher than expected mortality rates, hospitalizations, long-term care placements, and localized environmental and safety hazards.

Measuring money mismanagement among dually diagnosed clients.

Clients dually diagnosed with psychiatric and substance abuse disorders may be adversely affected if they mismanage their Social Security or public support benefits. Assistance managing funds, including assignment of a representative payee, is available but there are no objective assessments of money mismanagement. In this study, a Structured Clinical Interview for Money Mismanagement was administered twice at 1-week intervals to 46 clients receiving disability payments and was compared with clinician's judgment that the client was incapable of managing funds, the frequent basis for payee assignment by the Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs.