Elder abuse an international perspective: exploring the context of elder abuse.

The understanding of elder abuse and neglect, also called elder mistreatment, is at an interesting juncture, both empirically and conceptually. Since 2000 there has been a significant growth in prevalence studies, including major studies from the And while development is still uneven, there is now a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, held in June every year, with a network of grassroots support in a wide number of countries. At the International Congress of Gerontology and Geriat-rics in Bologna, Italy (held on 14–17 April 2011, see http://iaggbologna2011.com), there were, for the first time, six symposia devoted to the topic, and in the Netherlands, a country with some of the first internationally recognized studies, the Leyden Academy in 2011 called the inaugural meeting of an international working group to critically consider interdisciplinary responses to this area of increasing professional concern. It is arguably the case that the study of elder mis-treatment is now coming of age, with a number of studies outlining a close relationship between mis-treatment and mental health, well-being, and social adaptation in later life (such as Penhale and has been influential in establishing the most commonly used definition: " A single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person. " This definition is now a standard policy formulation in a variety of fields, countries, and for diverse purposes. The term " abuse " is commonly used to designate acts, and sometimes also negligence, against older persons. Elder mistreatment, also quite regularly used, usually gives a stronger connotation toward the inclusion of neglect, but also covers acts of abuse. Following current standards in the field, both terms are used interchangeably in this special issue. As the evidence base grows, the field is beginning to develop a conceptual understanding that arises from the phenomenon itself. It is, in other words, casting off positions embedded in other areas, such as child abuse and domestic violence , and, while drawing on these more established fields, is creating one of its own from the dynamics of adult aging and intergenerational relationships. This task is a complex one. As with the rest of psycho-gerontological studies, it is a multidisciplinary area, affecting medical, clinical, psychological , social, institutional, policy, and philosophical concerns. The study of aging has itself not been a policy priority until relatively recently, …