Causes of elder abuse: caregiver stress versus problem relatives.
Elderly abuse victims and a nonabused control group were compared to test the widely accepted proposition that such abuse results from the burden and stress placed on those caring for infirm and dependent elderly people. The study found substantially more support for the idea that abuse is associated with personality problems of the caregiver.
Pillemer
K
K
Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, Durham.
Finkelhor
D
D
D000368:Aged; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D004552:Elder Abuse; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000150:complications*