Highlights of a National Study of Elder Abuse Reports

Presented below are selected findings from a national study of domestic elder abuse reports conducted by the National Center on Elder Abuse in 1994. Data on elder abuse reports were collected from state adult protective service agencies and state units on aging across the nation.

REPORTING - From 1986 to 1994 there has been a steady increase in the reporting of domestic elder abuse nationwide:

117,000 reports in 1986,
128,000 reports in 1987,
140,000 reports in 1988,
211,000 reports in 1990,
213,000 reports in 1991,
227,000 reports in 1993,
241,000 reports in 1994.

This 1994 figure represents an increase of 106% since 1986. It is estimated that approximately 820,000 elders became victims of various types of domestic elder abuse in 1994. This figure, however, excludes self-neglecting elders. If self-neglecting elders are added, the total number of elder abuse victims would be 1.86 million individuals in the same year.

AGE - The median age of elder abuse victims was 76.5 years, according to 1994 data that excluded self-neglecting elders. The median age of self-neglecting elders was 77.2 years in 1994.

TYPES OF ABUSE - Neglect is the most common form of elder maltreatment in domestic settings. Of the non-self-neglect reports that were substantiated in 1994, 58.5 percent involved neglect. Physical abuse accounted for 15.7 percent in the same year, while financial/material exploitation represented 12.3 percent of the substantiated reports.

RACE OF ABUSE VICTIMS - In 1994, 65.4% of the victims of domestic elder abuse were white, while 21.4% were black. In addition, Hispanic elders accounted for 9.6% of the domestic elder abuse victims in the same year, but the proportions of Native Americans and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders were each less than 1%.

SEX OF ABUSE VICTIMS - The majority of elder abuse victims are female. In 1990, 68.3% of all reports involved female victims, but this percentage went down to 61.4% in 1994.

SEX OF ABUSERS - In 1990, the majority of perpetrators were male - 54.7% male to 42.1% female. But the ratio of male perpetrators to female perpetrators changed to a degree where by 1994 there was no significant difference between the two sexes - 50.6% male to 49.3%.

RELATIONSIPS - Adult children are the most frequent abusers of the elderly, and this category experienced the biggest increase in its composition of the total reports, 30.1% in 1990 to 36.7% in 1994. Other family members ranked as the next most likely abusers of the elderly. Other family members comprised 16.1 % of all reports in 1990 and 14.8% of all reports in 1994; while spouses comprised 15.9% of all reports in 1990 and 13.8% in 1994.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS - In all states but eight, certain types of professionals are designated as mandatory reporters of domestic elder abuse and are required by law to report suspected cases of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. In 1994, 21.6% of all domestic elder abuse reports came from physicians and other health-care professionals, while another 9.4% came from service providers (i.e., the staff of agencies providing services to the elderly). Additionally, family members and relatives of victims reported 14.9% of all reported cases of domestic elder abuse. Friends and neighbors, law enforcement personnel, clergy, banks/business institutions, and elder abuse victims also made reports.

SUBSTANTIATION OF REPORTS - The majority of elder abuse reports are substantiated after investigations. In 1994, 61.0% of all reports made were substantiated. Of those, 41.9% were self-neglect cases, while 52.5% were cases of abuse by others.