Elder Abuse by Adult Children: An Applied Ecological Framework for Understanding Contextual Risk Factors and the Intergenerational Character of Quality of Life

Abstract

Elder abuse in family settings has increased in recent years for a variety of reasons, including the increasing proportion of older adults in the total population, the related increase in chronic disabling diseases, and the increasing involvement of families in caregiving relationships with elders. Future trends indicate not only continued growth of the older population but suggest, as well, an increased demand for family caregiving which may, in turn, be accompanied by increasing rates of elder abuse. It is important to consider issues associated with such caregiving and elder abuse in families from an ecological perspective as a basis both for framing conceptually relevant and effective prevention strategies as well as for understanding the specific character of the broader issue of the intergenerational nature of the quality of life in an aging society. Using an applied ecological model, the article focuses on the contextual risk factors of elder abuse. Specifically, five levels of environment—microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem—will be utilized to organize and interpret existing research on the risk factors asociated with elder abuse (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1986, 1997). The configuration of the risk factors provides a useful framework for understanding the intergenerational character of the quality of life for older adults, for developing recommendations for empirically-based action research, and for the development of community-based prevention and intervention strategies. The application of a contextual perspective to the development of intervention and prevention programs will be addressed, the latter in relation to primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.