Domestic Abuse of the Elderly

Abstract

This article examines the role of the police in cases of elder abuse. This study of police involvement grew out of an earlier study conducted in 1981 by the Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology. This study analyzed 77 cases of elder abuse reported by medical and social service providers in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Analysis of these cases suggested that there was a lack of involvement of the police in elder abuse cases. These observations were confirmed in interviews with the two supervisors of the only Adult Protective Services units in Wayne County (Detroit), along with an analysis of a random sample of 75 of the 360 cases reported to the Adult Protective Services division of Wayne County Department of Social Services in 1983. Case examples and reasons why the Adult Protective Services (APS) workers do not refer elder abuse cases to the police are discussed.

Mental Health of Elderly Women

“…Physical abuse is the most prevalent form reported, although psychological abuse may actually be the most prevalent. Many cases involve more than one type of abuse and the abuse is usually not confined to a single incident (Sengstock & Barrett, 1984).…”