The term elder care describes the unpaid help provided by family members, friends, and/or neighbors to frail or disabled elders, including aging parents, grandparents, spouses, other relatives, or friends. Elder care involves care at the person’s home or in a care facility that may be nearby or miles away. Many informal caregivers to elders have jobs
Although elder abuse is a pervasive and growing problem, much about this topic remains unknown, and inconsistency in definitions has hampered research and practice. Both the lack of clarity of definition and the underreporting of cases have prevented a clear picture of prevalence. Notwithstanding, it is estimated that between 1 and 2 million Americans over
Estimates indicate that one million elderly people are victims of domestic violence every year. Forty percent of cases occur when adult children victimize their parents. The victimization includes psychological, physical, and financial abuse. Adult children perpetrating elder abuse are more likely to inflict psychological maltreatment than physical or financial abuse. Combining the fact that the
Assessing the risks of elder abuse involves applying what has been discovered about this type of abuse through research to detect problems before they become serious, or before they emerge at all. Researchers have uncovered certain risk factors, as they are called, which are really characteristics of victims, perpetrators, or environments that suggest the possibility
Statutory and Organizational Responses to Elder Abuse The Older Americans Act (OAA) became law on July 14, 1965. Among the OAA’s primary objectives was advancing the physical, mental, and financial well-being of older persons living independently in the community and in group residential settings and institutions. Title VII of the OAA explicitly includes protection against
Elder abuse in community settings (referred to as domestic elder abuse) has been the last form of family violence to receive multidisciplinary professional interest. Depending on the source, it is thought that the numbers of abused elders in America annually range from 500,000 to 2 million. The current literature suggests that domestic elder abuse is
Elder abuse is one of the more controversial subjects in domestic violence. Many people do not want to hear about it, deny its existence, and do not know what to do when confronted with it. Researchers and academics cannot agree among themselves about the definition or extent of elder abuse. The term ‘‘elder abuse’’ was
This article in health psychology explores the intricate relationship between elder care and mental health within the aging population. The introduction defines elder care, underscores the critical importance of mental health in the elderly, and outlines the article’s purpose. The first section delves into the aging process, examining both biological changes in the aging brain
Although elder abuse is a pervasive and growing problem, much about this topic remains unknown, and inconsistency in definitions has hampered research and practice. Both the lack of clarity of definition and the underreporting of cases have prevented a clear picture of prevalence. Notwithstanding, it is estimated that between 1 and 2 million Americans over
Elder abuse is a term that has both specific and general meanings. Specifically, the term refers to volitional acts (acts of commission) of physical, sexual, or psychological violence perpetrated against individuals over age 65 by family members or other individuals in positions of trust, such as health care providers. The term is not usually used