Key features of maltreatment of the infirm elderly in home settings.

OBJECTIVE

To identify contributory factors of elder abuse by caregivers in home settings.

METHOD: Using a reliable instrument, visiting nurses rated observations symptomatic of abuse and neglect found in their current caseload of elderly patients. Their observations were also classified as related or unrelated to wilfull maltreatment.

RESULTS

Regression analysis produced the following significant findings: 1. signs of poor physical care were found to be predictors of physical abuse; 2. signs of psychosocial distress and exploitation were identified as predictors of emotional abuse; 3. defensiveness and irritability shown by caregivers and strained family relationships, in general, were also associated with abuse.

CONCLUSION

It appears that emotional abuse is more prevalent than, and not a necessary precursor of, physical abuse; however, reliable signs of impending or actual abuse of the elderly can be found in a home during visitation.