Psychology Today's Diagnosis Dictionary: Elder or Dependent Adult Neglect

Diagnosis Dictionary

Elder or Dependent Adult Neglect

Definition

Each year hundreds of thousands of seniors are neglected by family members and caretakers. Many victims are people who cannot help themselves and depend on others to meet their most basic needs.

Neglect is when a caregiver does not provide for an elder's physical and/or psychological needs. Physical neglect can mean failing to provide an elder with adequate and necessary medication or physical therapy, not taking care of an elder's personal hygiene needs, or forcing an elder to live in unsanitary or potentially harmful conditions. Psychological neglect can mean leaving an older person alone for long periods of time, or failing to provide social contact, activities or information.

According to Nursing magazine, nearly 50 percent of elder abuse cases are the result of neglect. While states define abuse differently, each one has passed some form of elder abuse prevention laws and established a reporting system. Generally, Adult Protective Services (APS) agencies receive and investigate reports of suspected elder abuse or neglect.

In 1996, Congress ordered the National Elder Abuse Incidence Study, which suggested that 500,000 Americans are abused, neglected and exploited by family members each year. Reports to APS agencies of domestic elder abuse also increased 150 percent between 1986 and 1996. This increase dramatically exceeded the 10 percent increase in the older population over the same period.

The study also found the following:

551,011 persons age 60 and older experienced abuse, neglect, and/or self-neglect (when a dependent adult does not obtain needed care) in a one-year period.
Almost four times as many new incidents of abuse, neglect, and/or self-neglect were unreported as those that were reported to and substantiated by adult protective services agencies.
Persons age 80 years and older suffered abuse and neglect at a rate two to three times greater than their proportion of the older population.
A family member was the perpetrator of abuse or neglect in 90 percent of reported cases. Two-thirds of the perpetrators were adult children or spouses.

Symptoms

Older people do not always report abuse because they may be embarrassed, afraid or unable to do so. Some may not even realize they are being neglected.

Here are some signs:

Unexplained worsening of medical conditions
Unexplained injuries or unlikely explanations for injuries
Dehydration or malnutrition (often evidenced by loss of weight or extreme thirst)
Poor personal hygiene
Untreated bedsores
Extreme withdrawal or agitation
Confusion
Depression
Ambivalent feelings toward caregivers or family members

Causes

Caretaker stress is a factor that can trigger elder neglect. Adult children who have no financial resources for providing health care other than those of their aging parent are especially vulnerable to stress. Caretakers and family members who are solely responsible for the bulk of a senior's care may become isolated from relatives and friends. This can be dangerous because it cuts them off from the support they need to cope with caregiving. Isolation also makes it harder for other people to intervene when a senior is being abused or neglected.

Treatment

If you suspect that a senior is being neglected by his or her caretaker, contact your county's Adult Protective Service's unit or a medical professional. All calls to APS agencies are kept confidential. If the APS unit suspects that elder abuse laws are being violated, the agency will assign a caseworker to carry out an investigation.

If you are a caretaker and feel overwhelmed, seek therapy, help from other family members or consider other care options for the elderly person. Many state and nonprofit agencies also offer respite services to provide family members with temporary relief from the stress of caring for a senior. Alleviating caretaker stress is, in many cases, the first step toward preventing elder neglect.

Source: National Center on Elder Abuse

Last Reviewed By: Catherine Shu