Senior Health - How Are The Elderly Abused?

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child."— W. Shakespeare

The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act of 1992 required that the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) conduct a study of the national incidence of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elderly persons. AoA issued its first-ever National Elder Abuse Incidence Study (NEAIS) in 1998, which stated: "This study estimates that at least one-half million older persons in domestic settings were abused and/or neglected, or experienced self neglect during 1996, and that for every reported incident of elder abuse, neglect or self neglect, approximately five go unreported."

NEAIS collected data from two different sources in a nationally representative probability sample of 20 counties: (1) local Adult Protective Services (APS) agencies or the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA); and (2) approximately 1,100 trained "sentinels" from public and private agencies that had frequent contact with elderly community residents.

The NEAIS examined the incidence of newly filed reports of abuse and neglect during calendar year 1996. The graphic shows the types of elder maltreatment involved in the total of 70,942 reported incidents substantiated by Adult Protective Service agencies. Nearly a half of the incidents involved neglect, a little over one-third involved emotional/psychological abuse, and nearly a third involved financial/material exploitation.

NEAIS also reported the ages of elder abuse victims for selected types of maltreatment. The oldest of the old — those aged 80 and over — were the most likely to be neglected (51.8% of cases) or to experience emotional, physical, or financial exploitation (41.3%, 43.7%, and 48% of cases, respectively). However, a slightly younger group, those aged 75 to 79, were the most likely to be abandoned (58.8%). NEAIS cannot explain why this is so. However, NEAIS does report that in 96.1% of cases of abandonment, the victim's income was less than $10,000.

Relationship of Alleged Perpetrators of Elder Abuse

Relationship	Percentage
Child	30.8
Spouse	30.3
Parent	24.0
Friend/Neighbor	5.7
Service Provider	4.2
Sibling	0.3
Not Determined	0.6

The table shows the relationship of the alleged perpetrators of abuse. In nearly equal proportions (30.8% and 30.3%), it is the child or spouse of the victim who committed the abuse. In 24% of cases, it was a parent involved. In a far smaller percentage of cases, it was either a friend/neighbor, grandchild, or service provider who was the perpetrator.

Sources: The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study; Final Report, http://www.aoa.gov/abuse/report/GFindings-01.htm#P131_7832. Administration on Aging, http://www.aoa.gov/aoa/PAGES/aoa.html.