NCJ Number
102661
Date Published
1986
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This paper summarizes evaluation findings from three model projects that provided case work services to abused and neglected elderly and their families. The projects were conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs; the Metropolitan Commission on Aging of Onondaga County, N.Y.; and the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs.
Abstract
Questionnaires were filled out by social workers from the Model Projects on 328 cases for the period July 1, 1981, through June 30, 1983. Evaluations of the programs examined five types of mistreatment: physical, psychological, and material abuse, and active and passive neglect. The findings showed that the abuser's psychological state was a major explanatory variable for elder abuse. The typical portrait of the victim as a very old, disabled woman totally dependent on an overburdened, neglectful, or abusive adult child was typical for neglect, but not for abuse. In all types of abuse cases, the perpetrator was also dependent on the victim. The evaluation results did not clearly define the causal roles of external stress, isolation, or a history of family violence. These findings suggest that mental health services are an absolute necessity in treating elder abuse and neglect cases and that home care and respite services can resolve some family problems. Other important points for intervention include the large proportion of spouse abuse among elderly victims and the need for disseminating information about elder abuse to people in the aging field. Implications of the evaluation for organizing a community response system are discussed. 5 endnotes.