Financial problems, death in the family, the responsibilities of caregiving, and other tensions may create frustration and anger that some people express through acts of violence. New studies have investigated the relationships between the care recipient’s degree of cognitive impairment and the occurrence of abuse and neglect by the caregiver. A recent study conducted at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey associated mistreatment of persons with dementia with the psychologic and physical demands placed on family caregivers. Another study from Cornell University and Louisiana State University found that a caregiver being married to the care recipient is a risk factor as are previous acts of abuse perpetrated by the care recipient on the caregiver.

Financial problems, death in the family, the responsibilities of caregiving, and other tensions may create frustration and anger that some people express through acts of violence. New studies have investigated the relationships between the care recipient’s degree of cognitive impairment and the occurrence of abuse and neglect by the caregiver. A recent study conducted at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey associated mistreatment of persons with dementia with the psychologic and physical demands placed on family caregivers. Another study from Cornell University and Louisiana State University found that a caregiver being married to the care recipient is a risk factor as are previous acts of abuse perpetrated by the care recipient on the caregiver.