Conceptual Solution to Elder Abuse

Nothing makes it faster into the newspapers then a sensational story of physical or sexual abuse of a vulnerable person. We find such atrocities repugnant. Each incident diminishes our expectations of ourselves as civilized—we become less human. 

What distinguishes elder abuse from any other type of abuse is that—sadly—it is all too predictable. We can predict with some level of accurately who is prone to elder abuse in terms of both becoming a victim, and becoming abusive. Unlike any other type of abuse, elder abuse is predictable.

The few statistics that we have show that those who become abused are more likely to be isolated female with some form of vulnerability, whether that is physical or mental. Also, an abused older adult suffering from dementia makes it less easy to prosecute. By the time the case makes it through the ponderous legal system there is a likely chance that cognitive impairment has become more pronounced. People who experience violence tend to suffer dementia earlier, faster.

On the other hand, those who abuse are more likely to be male family members, most often the victim’s adult child or spouse. The familial relationship makes it that much harder to report. Research has shown that the abusers in many instances are financially dependent on the elder’s resources and have alcohol and drugs problems. A study by Arnold S. Brown from Northern Arizona University, showed that a large number of people who commit elder abuse have themselves been abused as children. Abuse is a learned behavior.  

How we deal with abuse as a society is unfortunately outdated. The response grew from treating elder abuse like child abuse.  The current system of prosecuting cases in court is untenable. There is also a dark side of how law is used. In terms of financial abuse, there is growing anecdotal evidence suggesting that older adults are being denied access to their bank funds because of concerns that they are withdrawing too much money. There is a fine line between protecting the older adults and treating them as children. 

Even if there is financial abuse and the case—as an exception—makes it to court, in virtually all cases little of the stolen money is recovered.  In cases of physical abuse the ponderous slowness of the legal profession that does not protect the victim from escalation and in some cases fatality. But the overwhelming concern is the demographic revolution that will overwhelm the system purely on the number of frail older adults that are emerging.

The solution is therefore to prevent abuse from happening. Being predictable helps us to prevent it. Canadians are ahead of us here. They developed an effective “buddy system” where volunteers befriend vulnerable older adults. In order to not loose our humanity we need to be more social. Perhaps the reason we feel less civilized is because we have become less civilized, we have lost our social capital.  An excellent summary of such a program is to be found at the University of California at Irvine website, www.centeronelderabuse.org.

Mario Garrett, Ph.D., is a professor of gerontology at San Diego State University and can be reached at mariusgarrett@yahoo.com