NCJ Number
92686
Date Published
1983
Length
16 pages
Annotation
A study on physical abuse of elderly parents living with their children analyzes the stresses arising from such living situations, families' approaches to dealing with such situations, and possible means of averting domestic violence.
Abstract
Study data derive from structured interviews with 77 adult children caring for 103 dependent elderly parents. Questions asked were designed to determine what tasks family members performed for the elderly: household management, financial, social/emotional, mental health, and personal grooming/health care. Findings show that most caregivers are women facing the problems of aging themselves and that they often have to deal with their elderly parents' violent reactions. The most frequently performed tasks are housekeeping (90 percent), social and emotional tasks (66 percent), mobility assistance (64 percent), mental health care (57 percent), and financial management and personal health care (over 50 percent). About 71 percent of the elderly parents use psychological methods to get their way, especially withdrawal, manipulation, or imposing guilt. Adult children attempt to solve problems by consulting a third party (65 percent), considering alternative housing (20 percent), or threatening to send elderly parents to a nursing home. Violent abuse by caregivers is a method of last resort (10 percent) and is actually more frequently directed by elderly parents against their caregivers (18 percent). Service providers can lessen the danger of violence by helping both elderly parents and their children cope with their new roles and by providing assistance in the form of housekeeping, elder sitting, support groups, and outside social contacts. Twenty-four references and tables are supplied.