The Cost of a Lifetime: Elder Abuse and the Burden of Social Disadvantage

• In Event: Aging and the Life Course Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 12: Structural Barriers and Vulnerability among Older Adults

Abstract

Background: Elder abuse is a pressing issue that affects millions of older adults, yet it remains one of the most underreported and overlooked forms of violence. This study focuses on elder abuse and its relationship with financial insecurity. This study applies cumulative disadvantage theory (Dannefer, 2003), which helps explain why certain older adults, like those with histories of poverty, trauma, and low social support, are more likely to experience mistreatment. This theoretical lens allows elder abuse to be conceptualized as an outcome of lifelong marginalization and unequal access to resources rather than an isolated event.
Methods: This study utilizes data from the Older Adult Mistreatment Assessment Client questionnaires collected between 2007 and 2008. It focuses on financial exploitation and psychological abuse among 227 older adults aged 60 and older who have experienced mistreatment. Two indices were created to assess elder abuse and its relationship with financial insecurity.
Results: Bivariate results showed positive correlations for both elder abuse indices and financial insecurity (r = .270, p < .001) and (r =.196, p < .001). Unlike the bivariate results, the multivariate results showed a positive and significant relationship for only one of the elder abuse indices (b = .198, p < .05).
Conclusion: These findings highlight the relationship between financial insecurity and elder abuse, underscoring the need for urgent policy intervention (improvements in financial support programs and elder abuse screening). Only by acknowledging and addressing the compounded effects of disadvantage can we begin to protect the well-being of older adults.

Author

• Abigail Kay LeGars, Wilkes University