Epidemiology
Posted by admin on November 2nd, 2008The epidemiology of elder abuse and neglect has been better understood since the publication of the 1986 survey by the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. In this survey of 2020 randomly selected elderly people living in the Boston metropolitan area, 3.2% reported being abused. Abuse was defined as physical abuse, which included hitting, slapping, and pushing; neglect, which involved depriving a person of something needed for daily living; and chronic verbal aggression, which included verbal threats and insults. Because the survey did not cover all forms of elder mistreatment (eg, financial exploitation), the 3.2% figure underestimates the problem.
Recently, the Women’s Initiative of the American Association of Retired Persons categorized elder abuse and neglect as follows: (1) early onset spousal and partner abuse and neglect continuing into later life, (2) late onset spousal and partner abuse and neglect during later life, and (3) abuse and neglect by adult children and other relatives.
The Family Research Laboratory investigators found that most abuse is committed by one spouse against another; 65% of abuse cases were between spouses, and only 23% involved an adult child abusing a parent. Elderly husbands were abused twice as often as elderly wives. It is not known whether the abuse perpetrated by wives is a continuation of early onset spousal abuse done in a spirit of retaliation or self-protection. It is known that elderly wives are more seriously injured by their husbands than elderly husbands are by their wives.
This study also found that the abusers usually were dependent on the person they abused. The study indicates that a significant risk factor for abuse and neglect is a close proximity of living arrangements of victim and abuser. In the study, abuse occurred at all economic levels and in all age groups among the elderly.
Tags: Epidemiology
