NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... all categories of abuse, with the exception of abandonment. They accounted for over half the reports of neglect (51. 8 percent), and 48. 0 percent of financial / material abuse, 43. 7 percent of physical abuse, and 41. 3 percent of emotional / psychological abuse. In all types of abuse and neglect, elderly victims in the 60 - 64 and 65 - 69 age groups accounted for the smallest percentages. Female elders were more likely to be the victims of all categories of abuse, except for abandonment. While making up about 58 percent of the total national elderly population in 1996, women were the victims in 76. 3 percent of emotional / psychological abuse, 71. 4 percent of physical abuse, 63. 0 percent of financial / material exploitation, and 60. 0 percent of neglect, which was the most frequent type of maltreatment.
A majority of the victims of abandonment were men (62. 2 percent). In 1996, white elders were 84. 0 percent of the total elder population, while black elders comprised 8. 3 percent, and Hispanic elders were 5. 1 percent. While white elders were the victims in eight out of ten reports for most types of maltreatment, black elders were over-represented in neglect (17. 2 percent), financial / material exploitation (15. 4 percent), and emotional / psychological abuse (14. 1 percent). Hispanic elders and those from other racial / ethnic groups were under-represented among victims in all types of maltreatment.
The study found that elders who are unable to care for themselves were more likely to suffer from abuse. Approximately one-half (47. 9 percent) of the substantiated incidents of elder abuse involved elderly persons who were not able to care for themselves, 28. 7 percent were somewhat able to do so, and 22. 9 percent were able to care for themselves. For the national elderly population as a whole, the federal government estimates that 14 percent have difficulties with one or more activities of daily living. l 'P 81 13978 ' Approximately six out of ten substantiated elder abuse victims experienced some degree of confusion (31. 6 percent were very confused, or disoriented, and 27. 9 percent were sometimes confused).
This represents a high degree of potential mental impairment among this group of abused elders, particularly when compared with the estimated 10 percent of the total national elderly population suffering with some form of dementia. About 44 percent of all substantiated abused elders were gauged to be depressed at some level, with about 6 percent of them severely depressed. This compares with the estimated 15 percent of all elders nationally who are depressed at any one time. One-third of substantiated elder abuse victims (35. 4 percent) displayed no signs of depression. Characteristics of Perpetrators of Domestic Elder Abuse Overall, men were the perpetrators of abuse and neglect 52. 5 percent of the time. Of the substantiated cases of abuse and neglect, males were the most frequent perpetrators for abandonment (83. 4 percent), physical abuse (62. 6 percent), emotional abuse (60. 1 percent) and financial / material exploitation (59. 0 percent).
Only in cases of neglect were women slightly more frequent (52. 4 percent) perpetrators than men. The age category with the most perpetrators was the 41 to 59 age group (38. 4 percent), followed by those in the 40 years or less group who were perpetrators in more than one quarter of reports (27. 4 percent). About one-third of perpetrators (34. 3 percent) were elderly persons themselves (60 and over). Perpetrators of financial / material exploitation were particularly younger compared to other types of abuse, with 45. 1 percent being 40 or younger and another 39. 5 percent being 41 - 59 years old. Eighty-five percent of the perpetrators of financial / material exploitation were under age 60. About three-fourths (77. 4 percent) of domestic elder abuse perpetrators in 1996 were white, and less than one-fifth (17. 9 percent) were black.
Other minority groups accounted for only 2 percent of the perpetrators, while the race of 2. 7 percent of perpetrators was unknown. Data show that family members were the perpetrators in nine out of ten (89. 7 percent) substantiated incidents of domestic elder abuse and neglect. Adult children of elder abuse victims were the most likely perpetrators of substantiated maltreatment (47. 3 percent). Spouses represented the second largest group of perpetrators (19. 3 percent).
In addition, other relatives and grandchildren, at 8. 8 percent and 8. 6 percent respectively, were the next largest groups of perpetrators. Non-family perpetrators included friends / neighbors (6. 2 percent), in-home service providers (2. 8 percent), and out-of home service providers (1. 4 percent). The report provides details about the relationship of perpetrators to the victims for the different types of maltreatment. Characteristics of Self-Neglecting Elders Self-neglect was included in the NEAIS and a common definition and signs and symptoms were adopted for it, as with all the specific types of abuse and neglect.
Self-neglect is characterized as the behaviors of an elderly person that threaten his / her own health or safety. Self-neglect generally manifests itself in an older person's refusal or failure to provide himself or herself with adequate food, water, clothing, shelter, safety, personal hygiene, and medication (when indicated). l 'P 100 17484 ' Approximately two-thirds (65. 3 percent) of substantiated self-neglecting elders were female, compared with women being 58 percent of the overall elderly population. About two-thirds (65. 1 percent) of self-neglecting elders were 75 years or older (or almost twice their proportion of the overall elderly). The largest proportion of self-neglecting elders were in the oldest age category of 80 and over (44. 7 percent), while the proportion decreased in each declining age group, with only 6. 3 percent of self-neglecting elders being in the 60 - 64 year age group (compared to their being 23 percent of the total elderly population). Self-neglecting elders were predominately white (77. 4 percent), while 20. 9 percent were black and 1. 7 percent were other or unknown.
The black elderly are two-and-a-half times more likely to be self-neglecting than their proportion of the elderly population. Not surprisingly, most (93. 3 percent) self-neglecting elders have difficulty caring for themselves. Of these elders, 34. 3 percent are not capable of caring for themselves, while 59. 0 percent are somewhat able to care for themselves. Three out of ten self-neglecting elders (29. 9 percent) are very confused or disoriented, while 45. 4 percent are sometimes confused. Three-quarters (75. 3 percent) of substantiated self-neglecting elders suffer from some degree of confusion. 2 Nov. 1997 U. S.
Census Bureau report on disability status of persons 65 years and older in 1994 - 95. 3 For purposes of this study, the definition of 'self-neglect' excludes a situation in which a mentally competent older person (who understands the consequences of her / his decisions) makes a conscious and voluntary decision to engage in acts that threaten her / his health or safety. ? Abuse and Neglect Reported by Sentinel Agencies? The remaining findings from the NEAIS address elder abuse reported by 1, 156 sentinel reporters in the 248 sentinel agencies. Since sentinel data are not officially reported to the APS agencies, they are not officially substantiated. Sentinels were, however, carefully trained to screen out incidents that would not be supported.
The unduplicated sentinel reports were relatively small in number (140) and, therefore, standard errors are relatively high. Characteristics of Elderly Victims of Nonreported Domestic Abuse and Neglect (Sentinel) Neglect was highest among those 80 years and over (60. 0 percent). Physical, emotional, and financial abuse were found at higher rates among those aged 60 to 70 than among those 80 and older. As with APS reports, a majority of victims of all types of abuse were women, as reported by sentinels. Although women represented about 58 percent of the total U. S.
elderly population in 1996, over 80 percent of the physical abuse recognized by sentinels, over 90 percent of the financial abuse, over 70 percent of the emotional abuse, and over 65 percent of the neglect cases was found among women rather than men. Abandonment was also more frequent for women (65. 4 percent), in contrast to substantiated APS reports, which show men were more likely to be abandoned (62. 2 percent). The data do not show that rates of unreported abuse and neglect are higher among minorities than among non minorities. Rather, minorities, which collectively accounted for 15. 5 percent of the total elderly population in 1996, were victims of abuse, as reported by sentinels, between 3. 6 and 7. 6 percent depending on the type of abuse.
Data from sentinel reports reveal that only one-third (33. 8 percent) of the victims were able to care for themselves, another one-third (33. 1 percent) were somewhat able to care for themselves, and 18. 8 percent were not able to care for themselves. (Sentinels were unable to make a determination 14. 2 percent of the time. ) Individuals experiencing neglect, abandonment, and self-neglect were most often reported by sentinels as not able or only somewhat able to care for themselves. Two-thirds (67. 7 percent) of those that were physically abused were thought to have the ability to care for themselves, suggesting that such abuse is not perpetrated on just the most vulnerable individuals. Sentinels reported, through observation not diagnosis, that over one-third (36. 6 percent) of alleged victims were not confused, about an equal proportion (37. 9 percent) were sometimes confused, and a relatively small percentage (7. 5 percent) were very confused or disoriented. Sentinels were unable to make one of these choices 18. 0 percent of the time. Confusion was most common among those who experienced neglect, abandonment, and self-neglect. In noting observations of depression, sentinels were unable to make a determination for a third of the elders they saw.
Sentinel data show that 20. 0 percent of the alleged victims were not depressed, 41. 4 percent seemed to be moderately depressed, and a relatively small proportion (5. 5 percent) appeared severely depressed. Signs and symptoms of moderate or severe depression were relatively high across all forms of abuse and neglect, but did not stand out for any one category when standard errors are taken into account. Characteristics of Perpetrators of Nonreported Abuse and Neglect (Sentinel) As with APS reports, perpetrators reported by sentinels were most frequently family members (89. 6 percent), including the adult children (30. 8 percent), spouses (30. 3 percent), and a parent (24. 0 percent). Parents are possible abusers of elders because elders were defined as persons aged 60 and over, and some persons in their 60 s and 70 s had parents in their late 70 s and 80 s. Friends, neighbors, and service providers were believed to be responsible for the abuse and neglect 10 percent of the time. The most common age range for perpetrators was the middle years, ages 36 to 59 (45. 5 percent), with 28. 6 percent of abuse being committed by people 60 and older, and 15. 3 percent by those 35 and younger.
Nearly twice as many men as women were reported as perpetrators of abuse and neglect by sentinels (63. 1 percent compared to 35. 4 percent). ? NEAIS Study Design and Methods? The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study gathered data on domestic elder abuse, neglect, and self-neglect through a nationally representative sample of 20 counties. For each county sampled, the study collected data from two sources: (1) report...
Free research essays on topics related to: physical abuse, elderly population, emotional abuse, elder abuse, psychological abuse
Research essay sample on Elder Abuse Elderly Population
