NCJ Number
145109
Journal
Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect Volume: 4 Issue: 3 Dated: (1992) Pages: 61-83
Date Published
1992
Length
23 pages
Annotation
The correlation between elderly victims' race and the type of abuse they experience is examined.
Abstract
Data were taken from 597 cases of elder mistreatment in Wisconsin between July 1987 and July 1989. About 20 percent involved black victims; the rest were white. A higher proportion of black than white victims were female, younger, or living at the home of a relative or friend. The blacks were more afflicted with physical ailments and less likely to show evidence of mental illness, and their victimization was more likely to be seen as life-threatening. Elder abuse is by and large an intrarace phenomenon. However, in black cases, the perpetrator is more likely to be female, and in the white cases, male. Self-neglect was more prevalent in white cases, equally so for men and women; while neglect by others was more common in white cases. Race was not related to the likelihood of being physically or materially abused. 6 tables and 18 references