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…

A community-based training program is described in which elderly peer counselors work with elderly victims of crime and violence. (Author)

A 1999 survey of 408 nursing programs followed up on a 1995 survey (n=298). Most current respondents included content on abuse of women, children, and the elderly; 63% reported no faculty development on violence issues; 67% had not evaluated violence-related curriculum since 1995; only 39% felt that the curriculum adequately addressed violence,…

A comparison group study of abusing and nonabusing caregivers suggested a correlation between alcohol use and violence against elderly parents. Findings reveal that abusers were more likely than nonabusers to drink, to become intoxicated, and to be identified as having a drinking problem. Policy and practice implications are discussed. (Author)

Provides background to a theme volume on violence in the broader community and in the family. Discusses the incidence in various ethnic and racial groups of adolescent violence, dating violence and sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse. (Contains 32 references.) (SV)

Purpose: This study examined the extent to which older adults identified in a statewide abuse hotline registry utilized behavioral health services. This is important as mental health issues have been identified as a high priority for filling gaps in services for victims of mistreatment. Design and Methods: We compared Medicaid and Medicare claims…

Reviews the meaning and uses of elder-abuse and child-abuse concepts and percepts in the reporting of events and research. Reports that the stereotypical nature of the concepts and the labeling of the victims has hampered the reporting of the maltreatment, thus impairing the accuracy of the research. (RJM)

Discusses various aspects of elder abuse: characteristics of victims, common forms of abuse, categories of abuse, victim-abuser relationship, characteristics of abusers, practical responses to the problem, and policy implications and research needs. (CT)