Purpose: This study was designed to examine the relationship between nurses' characteristics and perception of seriousness of elder abuse. Method: A cross-sectional survey design was used to describe the perception of elder abuse by 301 nurses. Data were collected by convenience sampling. The research instruments utilized in this study were 12 scenarios adapted by Yoo & Kim from the 13 senarios to measure the perception of elder abuse developed by Moon and Williams (1993), a seven item questionnaires related to elder abuse law, and a Semantic Differential Scaling to measure attitudes toward elderly people. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation. Results: The mean score for perceptions of elder abuse was 3.07. Among the types of abuse, sexual abuse was perceived as the most severe type of abuse followed by physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, and emotional abuse in that order. Education, job position, experience of gerontological nursing course, and education on elder abuse, exposure to elder abuse information, and attitudes toward elders were significantly related to the perception of seriousness on elder abuse. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that provision of elder abuse education is needed for nurses, to enable them to identify elder abuse and address their legal and professional responsibilities.
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