Elder Abuse and Neglect

The purpose of this research paper is to identify issues relevant to the problem of elder neglect and abuse in the United States. This is a problem, according to Tatara (2000), which impacts upon approximately 3.2 percent of elderly Americans (about 701,000 to 1.1 million elders). However, while these estimates are based upon sound empirical research, Tatara (2000) points out that the true incidence and prevalence of elder abuse and neglect in the United States is not known and that incidence and prevalence research in this field is an emerging discipline. The topic is therefore of significance for policymakers, medical caregivers, and social workers alike.

Section 102 of the Older Americans Act (OAA) defines abuse as:

The willful affliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or cruel punishment with resulting physical harm or pain or mental anguish; or deprivation by a caretaker of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish, or mental illness (Tatara, 2000, p. 834).

Neglect is defined by the OAA as a failure to provide for oneself the goods or services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness or the failure of a caretaker to provide such goods and/or services. The OAA defines exploitation as the "illegal or improper act or process of a caretaker using the resources of an older individual for monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain" (Tatara, 2000, p. 834).

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opulation of older Americans may be subject to abuse at any given date. Neglect is apparently the most common form of domestic elder abuse (45.2 percent) followed by physical abuse (19.1 percent), financial and material exploitation (17.1 percent), psychological and emotional abuse (13.8 percent), and sexual abuse (0.6 percent). Tatara (2000) states that adult children of victims are most likely to be abusers of elderly people (32.5 percent). Dyer and Goins (2000) reported that the majority of published studies identify self-neglect as the most common form of elder mistreatment. The number of reported cases of self-neglect among U.S. elders increased 150 percent from 1986 to 1996. Although individuals over 80 years of age constitute only 19 percent of the general population in the United States, they accounted for 45 percent of all cases of self-neglect. In a discussion of elder mistreatment, Swagery (1999) focused on the role played by physicians in identifying abused and neglected elders and contended that physicians are in an ideal position to detect and manage this problem. However, stating that elder mistreatment may take many forms, this author also pointed out that physicians are often lacking in knowledge

Category: Government - E