In the United States the later years of a person's life have been called the "golden years." Instead, a growing number of the elderly are abused each year. Gray-Vickrey (2001) reports that neglect occurs in 49 percent of substantiated elder abuse cases, emotional abuse is found in 35 percent of cases, financial abuse is found in 30 percent of cases, and physical abuse or use of physical force is found in 25 percent of cases. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that more than half a million elderly people are maltreated each year, and the number may be three times higher since few cases of abuse are reported or investigated (Axmaker, 2003). Other non-government sources cite a higher number of abuse cases. Experts estimate the number of older adults who are mistreated annually at more than two million (Swagerty, 1999, p.2804). A U.S. National Elder Abuse Incidence Study confirmed that reported elder abuse cases are only the "tip of the iceberg" (National Center on Elder Abuse, 2003). The study also reports that two-thirds of the perpetrators of abuse were adult children or spouses. It has also been found that the elderly are abused in nursing homes, hospitals, or other institutions; in one study, 36 percent of nursing home staff stated that they had witnessed at least one physical abuse incident with an elderly patient (Nelson, 2002). Clearly, elder mistreatment or abuse of the elderly is a growing social phenomenon.
Elderly people are considered easy targets because they are perceived to be fragile and defenseless. Elder abuse is defined as representing all types of abusive behavior or mistreatment toward an older adult; this includes acts that are either intentional or unintentional. Abuse takes many forms ranging from financial exploitation and scams to physical acts of violence, to neglect and psychological abuse. There is no common pattern of elder abuse. Abusive acts can be performed by strangers, by caregivers and by f...