Definition. Types of abuse

Elder abuse is defined as destructive behavior against an older person that occurs in the context of a relationship that denotes trust and is of sufficient intensity to produce harmful effects of a physical, psychological, social or financial nature, causing unnecessary suffering, injury, pain, loss or diminution of human rights and diminished quality of life for the elderly person.

Within the general category of «elder abuse» several types are included, highlighting among them physical, psychological, economic, sexual abuse, neglect and self-neglect. They are specified as:

• Physical abuse: use of physical force that can result in bodily harm, pain, or physical impairment. It can include hitting, pinching, shoving, kicking, burning, physical punishment, whipping, inappropriate use of drugs, physical restraints, forced intake, etc.
• Sexual abuse: unacceptable sexual contact of any kind. It can include: touching, taking immodest pictures without consent, rape, forced nudity, etc.
• Abandonment: abandonment of an elderly person by a person who had assumed responsibility for providing care, or by the person in charge of their custody (legal guardian). It includes abandonment in healthcare institutions such as hospitals, residences and clinics, as well as in shopping centers, premises and on public roads.
• Economic abuse: illegal or improper use of all or some of the economic funds, property, property or possessions of the elderly person.
• Negligence: conduct that threatens the health or personal safety of the adult through restrictions, absences or deficiencies in the provision of food, drink, clothing, hygiene, cleanliness, shelter, medication or security.
• Psychic abuse: use of coercion, insults, contempt, underestimation, disqualification or behaviors of dominance and imposition.

The most common is abuse due to negligence (carelessness in hygiene, food, among others) and it is distributed equally in all social and economic classes. A significant percentage of abusers are their own children and, in many cases, with the connivance of the spouses. They occur more in homes than in public or private residences.

Although there are cases of deliberate abuse, the most common cause is abandonment for economic reasons, lack of means or overcrowding in residences with a lack of personnel. According to the medical community, the problem must be kept in mind to be able to detect it and, therefore, to reduce the rates of underdiagnosis that occur in the elderly. If there are no obvious injuries, it is difficult for the elderly to express this problem.