or the most part from about 65 to 75--may be called the "young old." Their children may be grown, and they may be retired from their jobs, but basically they are active adults of late middle age.
Another group is the "old old"--those aged above about 75. This is the segment of the older population which is growing
fastest, particularly the very old, aged 85 and above. This segment of the population experiences failing health and a growing need for care. Also within this group abuse is a growing problem.
The "old old" are at the opposite end of life from children, but the two groups have much in common. Like children, the very old are dependent, both financially and in the sense of needing assistance in the daily needs of life. Like children, they have no public voice and are the constituency of no politician. And, like children, they are often thrust into the hands of ill-equipped caretakers, whose problems and frustrations may lead to abuse.
One dimension of abuse of the elderly--that of substandard
nursing homes--has received substantial public attention and is
generally accepted as a public matter. But only about 10 percent, even of that population of the elderly who are most in need of care, live in nursing homes (Crystal, 1982, p. 78). Most live in family situations of one sort or another, and it is with these situations, and the problems they can lead to, that this report will be concerned. As with child abuse, abuse of the elderly occurs behind the closed doors of private dwellings, but it is a public social problem nevertheless, and one which planners of public policy for the aged must address.
The dimensions of the problem of elderly abuse in the home
may be demonstrated by a study of the means by which younger
members of households attempted to control the elderly living with them (Steinmetz, 1981, p. 7):
Force-feeding and forced medication 6
...