Elder Mistreatment: Debunking Common Myths
Mickey Rooney’s experience with elder mistreatment shines a light on this often hidden but widespread problem. Elder mistreatment is defined as intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm (whether or not harm is intended) to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder. This includes failure by a caregiver to satisfy the elder’s basic needs or to protect the elder from harm. A first step might be addressing common myths about elder abuse and neglect.
MYTH 1: Elder abuse happens mostly in nursing homes and is perpetrated by strangers.
Four percent of people 65 and older lived in nursing/skilled nursing facilities in 2008. Sixty-eight percent of people 65 and older lived in households with relatives in 2008. Twenty-seven percent lived alone. Reports of abuse in community settings vastly outnumber reports of abuse in institutions. The 2000 Survey of State Adult Protective Services found that APS programs across the United States received a total of about 473,000 elder/adult abuse reports, for the most recent year for which data were available. Of these, 60.7 percent, or 287,000 reports, involved domestic settings, 8.3 percent, or 39,200, involved institutional settings, and the others were not tracked by setting. An estimated 10 percent of the complaints or about 20,000 complaints received by the Long Term Care Ombudsmen during fiscal year 1998 claimed abuse, gross neglect or exploitation. The 2000 APS survey and a more recent study which interviewed community-dwelling elders found that the majority of abusers were family members, particularly adult children and spouses.
MYTH 2: Elder abuse is not a problem in my community.
Elder abuse affects people from all socio-economic groups, cultures and ethnicities. Studies show that between 2 and 11 percent of the nation’s older adult population experiences abuse, neglect, exploitation or self-neglect each year. The few studies comparing different cultural groups’ perceptions of elder abuse found significant variations between groups in the identification and perceived seriousness of psychological, physical and financial elder abuse and neglect. It’s important to consider how people define elder abuse, and how cultural norms may affect willingness to report or cooperate with interventions.
MYTH 3: If I report suspected abuse, Adult Protective Services will remove the older adult from their home.
If there is no serious threat of immediate harm, Adult Protective Services workers will not remove a non-consenting adult from their residence. Unlike when child abuse is suspected, in elder/adult abuse cases the social worker presumes the client has decision-making capacity. Unless a court adjudicates otherwise, they must accept the client’s choices. Adult Protective Services are those services provided to older people and people with disabilities who are, or are in danger of being mistreated or neglected, are unable to protect themselves, and have no one to assist them… Guiding Value: Every action taken by Adult Protective Services must balance the duty to protect the safety of the vulnerable adult with the adult’s right to self-determination.
—National Adult Protective Services Association. Code of Ethics
MYTH 4: It’s a family issue and I shouldn’t get involved.
Families are often ill-equipped to identify and address elder abuse, so it’s critical for community members to notice and help elders at risk for mistreatment. For every case of suspected elder abuse that is reported to authorities, five cases go unreported. Many older victims’ needs are not being addressed by health, legal and social services systems. While the effectiveness of interventions needs to be thoroughly studied, systems won’t even have a chance to help unless mistreatment is reported.
Join the fight against elder mistreatment! Shine a light on this issue to help people recognize and address it! For helpful information and materials, visit:·
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect at University of California, Irvine www.centeronelderabuse.org
Downloadable posters, handouts of “Red Flags of Elder Mistreatment" in multiple languages·
International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse www.inpea.net
Downloadable posters in several languages, press releases·
National Adult Protective Services Association www.apsnetwork.org
Publications describing APS and clients served·
National Center on Elder Abuse www.ncea.aoa.gov
Community Outreach kit, publications, factsheets·
National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse www.preventelderabuse.org
Speaker’s Directory, publications·
National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care www.theconsumervoice.org
Policy tools, fact sheets, publications on nursing home care and residents’ rights
Elaine Chen, MS