Older Adults Affected by Polyvictimization: A Review of Early Research

• NCJ Number: 252873
• Journal: Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect Volume: 29 Issue: 5 Dated: 2017 Pages: 299-312
• Author(s): Holly Ramsey-Klawsnik
• Date Published: 2017
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-VF-GX-K014
• Sponsoring Agency: Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description; Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses late-life polyvictimization evidence, the contexts in which victims are harmed, and information regarding the impact of multifaceted elder abuse, and selected published cases illustrate the clinical dynamics operative in late-life polyvictimization.

Abstract

In contrast to work within the child-abuse field, polyvictimization of older adults did not become a professional focus until this decade; however, despite this lack of formal identification, a search of the research and practice literature revealed that prior research that investigated single forms of or other elder abuse issues contained evidence of what was variously termed "multiple," "multi-faceted," "co-occurring," or "hybrid" elder abuse. A wide range of victims (1.4 percent-89.7percent) identified in existing elder abuse studies were found to have experienced what constitutes "polyvictimization." (publisher abstract modified)