Gerontology 130
Working with the Frail Elderly
|
Gerontology 130 |
UNIT 10Adult Abuse |
 |
|
|
As our population has increased so has adult abuse. Elder Abuse crosses all social, economic and ethnic categories--any elderly person can be a victim. All states have adult abuse reporting requirements and for specifics, caregivers should contact Adult Protective Services located at state offices responsible for such reporting. Federal definitions of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation appeared for the first time in the 1987 Amendments to the Older Americans Act. These definitions were provided in the law only as guidelines for identifying the problems and not for enforcement purposes. The National Center on Elder Abuse http://www.elderabusecenter.org is the federal organization responsible for collecting statistics regarding elderly abuse.
The National Center on Elder Abuse reports has indicated a 150% increase in reports from 1986 to 1996 regarding elder abuse. The number of cases have grown from 117,000 in 1986 to 293,000 people in 1996. According to their reports the majority of elder abuse victims are female, while the majority of perpetrators were male. The most frequent abusers of the elderly were adult children, while other family members and spouses ranked as the next most likely abusers. In 1996 36.7% were adult children, while other family members comprised 10.8% and spouses comprised 12.6% of all reported cases [National Center on Elder Abuse, Information Series No. 2 (http://www.elderabusecenter.org/basic/fact2.pdf)].
Currently, elder abuse is defined by state laws, and state definitions vary considerably from one jurisdiction to another in terms of what constitutes the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the elderly. Broadly defined, however, there are three basic categories of elder abuse: (1) domestic elder abuse; (2) institutional elder abuse; and (3) self-neglect or self-abuse. In most cases, state statutes addressing elder abuse provide the definitions of these different categories of elder abuse, with varying degrees of specificity [http://www.elderabusecenter.org].
In California, Adult Protective Services is the agency responsible for investigating claims of abuse. This agency has defined abuse as the following:
Abusive acts include striking, burning, threatening, humiliating, isolating, abandoning, starving older adults or taking their property or money without their consent. If an act of violence such as a slap occurs once or occasionally it is not considered to be elder abuse. If it happens fairly often or results in hospitalization of the victim, it is deemed abuse [Rosalie S. Wolf, "Nature and Scope of Elder Abuse" in Generations Journal of American Society on Aging, Summer 2000, Vol. 24, No. 11].
The reasons for abuse vary widely depending upon the research conducted. Some researchers have indicated that the burden a caregiver feels in caring for an elderly relative, is due to the physical and mental condition of the elderly care recipient. Most analyses points to the conclusion that abuse is strongly related to a caregiver's personal and emotional problems, to financial dependence of a caregiver on a care recipient, and to a caregiver's general lack of knowledge and understanding concerning the elderly relatives' problems. Additionally, abuse is more likely in families that have a history of conflict, where there is insufficient social support for the elderly person being cared for, and in cases where the elderly recipient has been an abuser themselves [Myrna Reis, "An Abuse-Alert Measure That Dispels Myths" in Generations Journal of American Society on Aging, Summer 2000, Vol. 24, No. 11].
Emotional abuse is more difficult to prove. Is it emotional abuse when someone indicates to their elderly relative, "Either you sell your stock so we can buy a bigger house to care for you...or you will have to be placed in a nursing home"? This situation is at least unethical if not abusive. The line between emotional abuse and exhaustion due to the stress of caregiving is thin and easy to cross.
None.
E-mail your instructor: Ellis Waller
Copyright © 2001-2003 by Ellis Waller. All rights reserved.