title: [Prevalence of elder abuse in Spanish dwelling in community].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although elder abuse is not a new phenomenon, it remains hidden. There have been carried out various preliminary studies about the prevalence of elder abuse in different countries. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of suspicion of elder abuse in old persons without cognitive impairment, dwelling in community, who were attended in Primary Health Care or Social Services Centres.
  
  
  METHODS
  We carried out a transverse study in which 340 elders participated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found a 12.1% prevalence of suspicion of elder abuse. Psychological abuse suspicion was the most frequent type and it was very common the simultaneous presence of different types of abuse (psychological and physical and sexual). The suspicion of elder abuse was more frequent in women and spouses were responsible in a high great frequency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The information obtained allows advancing in the knowledge of elder abuse in Spain, where the research about this issue is poor. However, the prevalence found neither has to be considered as a social alarm nor as a social slackness.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid, España. Electronic address: gema.perezrojo@ceu.es.
authors.forename: Gema
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pérez-Rojo
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izal
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Montorio
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Regato
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Espinosa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D012947:Social Work; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Centros de Atención Primaria; Centros de Servicios Sociales; Elder abuse; Elder people; Malos tratos; Personas mayores; Prevalence; Prevalencia; Primary Health Care centres; Social Services centres