Bruising as a Forensic Marker of Physical Elder Abuse

• NCJ Number: 226457
• Date Published: February 2009
• Author(s): Aileen Wiglesworth Ph.D.; Raciela Austin R.N.; Maria Corona M.S.; Laura Mosqueda M.D.
• Length: 27 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2005-IJ-CX-0048
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

Sixty-seven adults ages 65 and older reported to adult protective services for suspected physical elder abuse were examined to document the location and size of bruises and assess whether they were inflicted during physical abuse.

Abstract

The study found that bruises which occurred as a result of physical elder mistreatment were often large (greater than 5 cm) and were located on the face, the lateral right arm, or the posterior torso. Forty-eight (72 percent) of the older adults who were determined to have been physically abused within 30 days prior to the examination had bruises. Eighty-nine of the 155 examined bruises (60 percent), were reported by the older adults to be inflicted, 26 (14.2 percent) were accidental, and 40 (25.8 percent) were of unknown cause. When the current study population was compared to a group of elders in an earlier study who had not been abused, the physically abused elders were found to have significantly larger bruises, and more of them reported the cause of their bruises. Based on these findings, older adults with bruises should be asked about the cause of the bruises in order to determine whether physical abuse occurred. Reports of bruising inflicted by others should be reported to adult protective services, the police, or other investigating agency. Based on self-reports and the medical exam, an expert panel confirmed physical abuse. Findings were compared with the results of an earlier study of accidental bruising in older adults. Data obtained were age; sex; ethnicity; functional status; medical conditions; cognitive status; history of falls; bruise size, location, and recall of cause; and response to the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale items and Elder Abuse Inventory. 3 tables and 22 references