National Center on Elder Abuse
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National Center on Elder Abuse
Home / Research / Research, Statistics and Data / Research and Theory
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Research and Theory
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Research
The study of elder mistreatment is a fairly recent area of scholarship in the United States. First discussed in the 1970’s, abuse of older adults was for many years a largely hidden, private matter rather than an issue of social, health, or criminal concern.1 Research efforts began slowly as state laws recognizing the offense were enacted and public awareness rose. While a research base has been steadily growing, the subject matter is still largely understudied and there remains a critical deficit in the development of robust studies. Notably, elder abuse research and funding lag behind efforts in the comparable and related disciplines of child abuse and intimate partner violence. Further studies are vital to identify the scope of the problem, explore areas of need, and to validate evidence-in-formed, best practice strategies to address elder abuse prevention, detection, treatment, and remediation.
Theory-informed Research and Practice
 | Theories are essential to explain the complex causes, risk factors, inter-relational dynamics, and consequences of elder mistreatment.2 They frame the way research is conducted, collected, and analyzed and inform identification of patterns, themes, and tendencies that influence appropriate strategies for intervention. In addition to improving practice measures to prevent and detect abuse, theory is critical to the development of policies that advance the education of practitioners and knowledge in the field.3 Early theoretical models have been critiqued for several reasons, including their limited scope, discipline-specific focus, and failure to consider cultural implications.4 While there is no current theoretical consensus, a number of approaches have emerged that lend insight to the area, including the ecological model,5 the abuse intervention model,6 contextual framework,7 trauma-based theories,8 and stress process theory.9 |
Research and Data
 | The statistics and data below provide information about the growing older adult population, definitions of abuse, the incidence and prevalence of mistreatment, and risk and protective factors for mistreatment, among other key topic areas. The research-based findings are sourced to peer-reviewed publications, articles, and relevant government agency data. Please note that the information referenced is based upon a variety of studies, each reflecting the author’s respective orientation, the type of research conducted, methods employed, measures evaluated, study-specific operational definitions, and contextually related data sets. |
1 Carney, A. (2020). Epidemiology of elder abuse and neglect. Elder Abuse, 1-17.
2 Jackson, S. L., & Hafemeister, T. L. (2016). Theory-based models enhancing the understanding of four types of elder maltreatment. International review of victimology, 22(3), 289-320.
3 Roberto, K. A., & Teaster, P. B. (2017). Theorizing elder abuse. Elder abuse,21-41.
4 Roberto, K. A., & Teaster, P. B. (2017). Theorizing elder abuse. Elder abuse, 21-41.Springer, Cham.
5 Phelan, A., & O’Donnell, D. (2020). An Ecological Perspective on Elder Abuse Interventions. Advances in Elder Abuse Research, 193-221.
6 Mosqueda, L., Burnight, K., Gironda, M. W., Moore, A. A., Robinson, J., & Olsen, B. (2016). The abuse intervention model: A pragmatic approach to intervention for elder mistreatment. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 64(9), 1879-1883.
7 Roberto, K. A., & Teaster, P. B. (2017). Theorizing elder abuse. Elder abuse, 21-41..
8 DePrince, A. P., & Jackson, S. L. (2020). Moving the field forward: elucidating the nexus between elder abuse and trauma. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 151-157.
9 Wong, J. S., & Waite, L. J. (2017). Elder mistreatment predicts later physical and psychological health: Results from a national longitudinal study. Journal of elder abuse & neglect, 29(1), 15-42.
Last Modified: 02/28/2024