Elder Psychological Abuse

According to the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, "psychological abuse is the willful infliction of mental or emotional anguish by threat, humiliation, or other verbal or nonverbal conduct." The American Psychiatric Association (APA) lists verbal assaults, threats, humiliation, treating like an infant and deliberate social isolation as examples of psychological abuse of elders.

Scope

• The APA estimates that 2.1 million older Americans are abused physically or psychologically annually. The figure may be up to five times greater than this, the APA states, since most cases go unreported.

Abusers

• While professional caregivers are sometimes guilty of elder abuse, perpetrators are more commonly family members. This may be caused by continuing dysfunction that has been operating in the family for years, or by the fact that the elderly person is dependent and cannot defend themselves well.

Indicators

• Perpetrators tend to isolate the elder person emotionally by refusing to touch or communicate with them. Abused elders may display fear of the abuser, have trouble sleeping and become withdrawn and non-responsive. They may also exhibit unusual behavior usually associated with dementia, such as rocking, sucking and biting.

Report

• All states have adult protective services to handle elder abuse complaints. The National Center on Elder Abuse lists contact information and hot lines for each state.