The Abuse Intervention Model: A Pragmatic Approach to Intervention for Elder Mistreatment
Date
2016
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Abstract
Elder mistreatment is experienced by 10% of older adults and is much more common among older adults with dementia. It is associated with increased rates of psychological distress, hospitalization and death and, in the US, costs billions of dollars each year. Though elder mistreatment is relatively common and costly, it is estimated that less than 10% of instances of elder mistreatment are reported. Given these data, there is a great need for research on interventions to mitigate elder mistreatment, and a practical model or framework to use in approaching such interventions. While many theories have been proposed, adapted and applied to understand elder mistreatment, there has not been a simple, coherent framework of known risk factors of the victim, perpetrator, and environment that applies to all types of abuse. In this paper we present a new model to examine the multidimensional and complex relationships between risk factors. This model is informed by theories of elder mistreatment, research on risk factors for elder mistreatment and 10 years of experience of faculty and staff at an Elder Abuse Forensics Center who have investigated more than 1000 cases of elder mistreatment. We hope this model, the Abuse Intervention Model (AIM), will be used to study and intervene in elder mistreatment. (Author Abstract)
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Seniors, Aging, Elder Abuse, Violence, Research, Screening, Assessment
Citation
Mosqueda, Laura ; Burnight, Kerry ; Gironda, Melanie W., Moore, Alison A., Robinson, Jehni; Olsen, Bonnie. (2016) The Abuse Intervention Model: A Pragmatic Approach to Intervention for Elder Mistreatment. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 64(9), 1879–1883.