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Highlights of a
National Study of Elder Abuse Reports
Presented below are
selected findings from a national study of
domestic elder abuse reports conducted by the
National Center on Elder Abuse in 1997. Data on
elder abuse reports were collected from state
adult protective service agencies and state units
on aging across the nation.
REPORTING
- From 1986 to 1996 there was been a steady
increase in the reporting of domestic elder abuse
nationwide:
117,000
reports in 1986,
128,000 reports in 1987,
140,000 reports in 1988,
211,000 reports in 1990,
213,000 reports in 1991,
227,000 reports in 1993,
241,000 reports in 1994.
286,000 reports in 1993,
293,000 reports in 1994.
This 1996 figure
represents an increase of 150% since 1986. It is
estimated that there are approximately 1.01
million abused elders in the country -- perhaps
2.16 million if self neglecting elders were added
to the estimate. It is widely accepted that these
data help to illuminate the seriousness of the
problem; however, no one can say exactly how
many cases of elder abuse there are in this
country each year.820,000 elders
AGE - The median age of elder
abuse victims was 77.9 years, according to 1996
data that excluded self-neglecting elders. The
median age of self-neglecting elders was 77.4
for the same year.
TYPES OF ABUSE -
Neglect is the most common form of elder
maltreatment in domestic settings. Of the
non-self-neglect reports that were substantiated
in 1994, 58.5 percent involved neglect. Physical
abuse accounted for 15.7 percent in the same
year, while financial/material exploitation
represented 12.3 percent of the substantiated
reports.
RACE/ETHNICITY OF ABUSE VICTIMS
- In 1996, 66.4
percent of the victims of domestic elder abuse
were white, while 18.7 percent were black.
Hispanic elders accounted for 10.4 percent of
the domestic elder abuse victims in the same
year. The proportions of Native Americans and
Asian American/Pacific Islander were each less
than 1 percent.
SEX OF ABUSE VICTIMS
- The majority of elder
abuse victims are female. In 1996, 67.3 percent
of all reports of abuse involved female victims,
while 32.4 percent of the reports pertained to
male victims.
SEX OF ABUSERS -
In 1990, the majority of perpetrators were male -
54.7% male to 42.1% female. But the ratio of male
perpetrators to female perpetrators changed to a
degree where by 1994 there was no significant
difference between the two sexes - 50.6% male to
49.3%.
RELATIONSIPS -
Adult children are the most frequent abusers of
the elderly, and this category experienced the
biggest increase in its composition of the total
reports, 30.1% in 1990 to 36.7% in 1994. Other
family members ranked as the next most likely
abusers of the elderly. Other family members
comprised 16.1 % of all reports in 1990 and 14.8%
of all reports in 1994; while spouses comprised
15.9% of all reports in 1990 and 13.8% in 1994.
REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS - In all states but eight,
certain types of professionals are designated as
mandatory reporters of domestic elder abuse and
are required by law to report suspected cases of
abuse, neglect, and exploitation. In 1996, 22.5 percent of all
domestic elder abuse reports came from health
care providers while another 15.1 percent came from service providers (i.e., staff of agencies
providing services to the elderly). Additionally,
family members and relatives of victims
reported 16.3 percent of all reported cases of
domestic elder abuse. Friends and neighbors,
law enforcement personnel, clergy,
banks/business institutions, and elder abuse
victims also made reports.
SUBSTANTIATION
OF REPORTS - The majority
of elder abuse reports are substantiated after
investigations. In 1996, 64.2 percent of all
reports made were substantiated: 31.7 percent
were self-neglect cases, 25.4 percent were cases
of abuse by others, 7.1 percent were unknown.
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