General Characteristics of Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Neglect Victims
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The four major studies undertaken in the field of elder abuse point out the tentativeness of their findings. In general, these studies are not adequate to provide a comprehensive set of characteristics of the abuser and his/her victim.
Yet, the completed studies provide an approach to the problem, and a victim profile does emerge. The Massachusetts study, the Battered Elder Syndrome, and the Lau and Kosberg studies all point out that the victim tends to be an "older" elder person; with 55% of the citings in the Massachusetts survey found in persons above the age of 75. All three studies agree that abuse is observed in an overwhelming degree in elderly women (77% in Lau and Kosberg, 80% in Massachusetts and 81% in the Battered Elder Syndrome).
The victims of abuse usually live in the family environment with an adult child or other family member who abuses them.
The overwhelming majority of abuse victims suffer from one or more disabilities which place them in a vulnerable and service-demanding position. 75% of the Massachusetts survey respondents stated that the abused person had a mental impairment. Lau and Kosberg report that 41% suffered either partial or total mental confusion.
Although more research needs to be done, it is easy to imagine that a victim of abuse is usually a person in some discomfort who may need constant attention and in-depth care. In some cases the older person may act cantankerously, demand care, and use guilt as a motivating force.
The older person may need a special diet, special hygiene care and demonstration of affection and caring. In some cases there may be a history of family violence, alcoholism, drug abuse or other stress that may prevent the neglector/abuser from caring for the elderly person. The vulnerable elder may have been an abusive parent.
In order to understand the psychodynamics at work in an abusive situation it may be helpful to put yourself in the role of a dependent and ailing older adult. The following exercise should assist you in understanding the victim's point of view.
Imagine yourself as an older person who is now incapable of caring for your own basic needs. You move into your child's home and away from the home you have known for years.
Moving has brought up old memories of the family -- memories with which you may not be entirely comfortable. Your relations with your children were never ideal and you may feel it's too late to establish good ties.
Now you are a burden on your children -- people you never really knew as they were growing up. You may have even abused them at one time in a period of great stress.
Your promise of golden retirement is shattered by inflation, a small fixed income and, perhaps, the loss of a spouse. You may feel yourself deteriorating physically and mentally and there are times when pains assault you. Now you are forced to compete with your grandchildren for attention, affection and care.
You may feel trapped in this home in which your personal cleanliness, privacy, nutrition and medical needs are low on the list of family priorities. Passivity, boredom, resignation to filth and withdrawal become your means of escaping. At this point it seems hopeless to reach out for aid.
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