Prevalence Estimates and Correlates of Elder Abuse in the United States: The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey

• NCJ Number: 252390
• Author(s): Andre B. Rosay, Carrie F. Mulford
• Date Published: January 2017
• Length: 14 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Award: National Institute of Justice Fellowship: Violence Against Indian Women Research Program

Annotation

This study examined the prevalence and correlates of psychological abuse and physical abuse against women and men ages 70 or older, using self-report data from 2,185 respondents in the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) to create weighted estimates for past-year experiences of abuse.

Abstract

Correlates were then examined, using survey logistic regression models. Just over 1 in 10 adults who were 70 years of age or older (14.0 percent) had experienced some form of abuse in the past year, with 12.1 percent experiencing psychological abuse and 1.7 percent experiencing physical abuse. One in five victims (20.8 percent) were abused by both intimate and non-intimate partners. Health care insecurity was the strongest correlate of past-year abuse. The odds of experiencing abuse were 4.53 times greater for those who experienced health care insecurity than for those who did not. This presents a significant challenge for identifying and helping victims of abuse. (Publisher abstract modified)