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Exploring Elder Abuse and Neglect
Elder abuse occurs when an older adult is harmed, neglected, deprived of needed care, or exploited by a caregiver or another trusted person. Abuse, neglect, and exploitation are experienced by about 1 in 10 people aged 60 and older who live at home (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). Elder abuse is often underreported in the United States because older adults may experience fear, embarrassment, dependence on the abuser, cognitive impairment, limited mobility, or social isolation.
Elder abuse is a serious public health and social problem because it can undermine an older adult’s safety, emotional well-being, financial security, independence, and quality of life. Risk factors include functional disability, cognitive impairment, poor physical or mental health, limited social support, financial dependence, lower socioeconomic status, caregiver stress, substance misuse, and broader social inequalities (Muehlbauer & Crane, 2006; Pillemer et al., 2016). Rather than having a single cause, elder abuse often emerges from the interaction of individual vulnerabilities, family dynamics, caregiving pressures, cultural norms, and inadequate social support.
Elder abuse challenges the assumption that families always provide safety, care, and protection across the life course. Older adults may depend on family members or caregivers for housing, transportation, medical care, financial management, or daily support. These relationships can provide love and stability, but they can also create opportunities for control, coercion, neglect, or exploitation when adequate support systems are absent.
Forms of Elder Abuse
Elder abuse can take several forms (National Center on Elder Abuse, n.d.):
- Physical abuse involves the use of force that may result in bodily injury, pain, or impairment.
- Sexual abuse refers to nonconsensual sexual contact of any kind with an older adult.
- Emotional or psychological abuse involves verbal or nonverbal acts that inflict anguish, distress, humiliation, intimidation, or fear.
- Financial or material exploitation is the illegal or improper use of an older adult’s money, property, benefits, or assets.
- Neglect is the refusal or failure to fulfill caregiving responsibilities, including providing food, shelter, medical care, hygiene, supervision, or protection.
- Abandonment refers to the desertion of an older person by someone responsible for their care.
- Self-neglect occurs when an older adult’s own behavior threatens their health or safety, such as when they are unable to obtain food, medication, shelter, or necessary care.
Preventing and Responding to Elder Abuse
Preventing elder abuse requires attention to both family relationships and broader systems of care. Strategies include learning to recognize signs of abuse, educating families and caregivers, supporting overburdened caregivers, reducing social isolation, improving access to healthcare and social services, and listening carefully to older adults about their needs and concerns. Suspected abuse can be reported to Adult Protective Services or other appropriate authorities.
A sociological approach emphasizes that elder abuse is not simply the result of individual cruelty or family failure. It is also shaped by ageism, caregiver burden, economic insecurity, disability, social isolation, and the organization of long-term care. Protecting older adults therefore requires strengthening families, supporting caregivers, expanding community resources, and ensuring that institutions respond effectively when abuse, neglect, or exploitation occurs.
Licenses and Attributions for Elder Abuse and Neglect
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Adapted by Sarah Earl-Novell from 9.4: Freedom from Violence and Abuse by Alexandra Olsen in Contemporary Families in the US: An Equity Lens 2e by Elizabeth Pearce, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Modifications by Sarah Earl-Novell include remixing, editing, contextualization, and the addition of original content.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, June 12). About abuse of older persons. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Muehlbauer, M., & Crane, P. A. (2006). Elder abuse and neglect. Home Healthcare Nurse, 24(1), 44–50.
National Center on Elder Abuse. (n.d.). Types of elder abuse.
Pillemer, K., Burnes, D., Riffin, C., & Lachs, M. S. (2016). Elder abuse: Global situation, risk factors, and prevention strategies. The Gerontologist, 56(Suppl. 2), S194–S205.
11.11: Elder Abuse and Neglect is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.
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