Treated initially as a social problem, elder abuse has only recently been criminalized. The criminalization of elder abuse involves penalizing offenders for actively abusing offenders as well as for violating mandatory reporting laws. Mandatory reporting laws exist to encourage professionals to report suspected cases of elder abuse. In this study,…

In Italy, data and information on prevalence and characteristics of elder abuse are very limited, and a specific legal and policy framework is lacking. Some articles of the Penal Code refer to the larger context of violence against disadvantaged groups, and some general support services not specifically dedicated to this issue are managed by local…

In this article, we review the literature on physical and sexual elder abuse within the context of risk theory and feminist sociology. Employing data from the 1999 General Social Survey, we also examine several variables potentially associated with the risk for physical or sexual abuse of elders. Women, Aboriginal Canadians, and elders who are…

Examines the reliability and validity of the Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale (VASS) for the early identification of elder abuse. Results confirmed the VASS factor structure and construct validity. The Vulnerability and Coercion factors held the strongest face and construct validity for physical and psychological abuse. (Contains 52…

Using an applied ecological model, this study focuses on contextual risk factors of elder abuse. Five levels of environment were used to interpret existing research on risk factors. Configuration of risk factors provides a framework for understanding the intergenerational character of quality of life for older adults, developing recommendations…