Replies Classmates-Discussion: Child and Elder Abuse
Respond to at least three or more students. Replies should be at least 150 words and of high quality.
Make sure to support your arguments with facts and use APA-style citations. Response posts must support your replies to classmates by offering at least one added reference.
Replay Alayna Initial Post
Elder abuse and child abuse are the two most controversial type of abuse, and while each type has different ramifications, they are conceptually quite similar. Elder abuse is not as commonly reported as child abuse but happens in those who are dependent on a caregiver, mental illnesses, and commonly those living in nursing facilities. To classify elder abuse, its individuals who are 65 and older. Child abuse is an act that involved abusing or neglecting those under the age of 18.
Children depend on a parent or a caregiver/guardian to supply their basic needs, however if they are abusive, they are not able to escape that hold they have. This is the case for some elders too, those who live at home with a family member as a caregiver or in a nursing facility they depend on those individuals to care for their needs as well. Social exchange theory explains that elders may be dependent on the caregivers, but it can be the opposite where the abuser may depend on the victim.
Although there are many similarities between elder abuse and child abuse, they do have vastly differences as well. Ways to deal with each abuse should differ as they will need different recovery processes. Typically, child abuse occurs in the home by a parent or a guardian whereas elder abuse commonly occurs in nursing homes, where the victims’ families may be unaware of the events that are occurring.
Child abuse received more attention since its more likely to be reported than elder abuse. There are a lot of mandated workers who can see the signs of child abuse and know on the proper people to contact in this case. Where elder abuse occurs in the privacy of their homes or nursing facilities its difficult to see the signs if you are not seeing them on a regular basis.
There was a study conducted on the effects child abuse has on elder abuse stating it was a circle of life. Intergenerational transmission of violence, also referred as “cycle of violence,” indicates that experiencing violence as a child may result in the perpetration of violence during adulthood (Dong, 2017). The victim become the abusers to the parents/guardians who abused them when they were younger. However, this is not always the case. But as the aging group doubles it leads to more at risk for such abuse.
Reply Fath Initial Post
When it comes to abuse, children and the elderly are most at risk. Both children and the elderly are in a very vulnerable and compromised position where they rely on someone to take care of them and their needs. In child and elder abuse alike, there is no specific class or type of person that the abuse generally happens to, abuse can happen to children and elderly of different ethnic backgrounds, social classes, and genders. Children and the elderly both are vulnerable and at risk to verbal and physical abuse, and neglect. These forms of abuse may come from a person that has been appointed the child, or elder’s caregiver such as a parent or nursing home worker. These forms of abuse may cause harm to both children and the elderly or can eventually lead to their death.
Abuse in elder differs from the abuse in children due to the age and the care that they receive. Caretakers for the elderly are responsible for giving them the proper medication and responding promptly if the elder should fall. They are required to supervise them and give them the proper care for their needs. Failure to do these things considered neglect and abuse. Another form of abuse in elderly is financial abuse. “Financial elder/dependent adult abuse is any theft or embezzlement of money or any other property from an elder”(California Department of Justice,2020). This form of abuse may include, taking money from a wallet, manipulating an elder to turn over money, or using an elder’s phone for long distance calls. Federal law defines child abuse as, “Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation”; or “An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm” (Child Welfare Information Gateway, n.d.).
“A recent review of interventions in child abuse, elder abuse, and domestic violence identified 144 controlled evaluations, yet only 2 dealt with the topic of elder abuse” (Wolfe,2013). Although elder and child abuse are both very prominent right now, there seems to be significantly less knowledge on the topic of elder abuse and little to no interventions being done on the abused elderly’s behalf. Unfortunately, elder abuse is not made aware of as much as child abuse and is less reported.
With the number of elders increasing as the years go on, there is an even greater risk that the number of elderly people facing abuse will increase. With the possibility of more elders that need to be cared for, the more likely elderly will not receive all the treatment that they need or will receive insufficient care due to the overpopulation of elders in ratio to care givers. With this possibly happening in the near future , there needs to be things put into place to protect the elderly now .
Reply Rachel Initial Post
Elder abuse and child abuse are alike in some regards, there are also differences. There are risk factors associated with each. There are different types of abuse and different outcomes associated with the abuse. There is evidence suggesting that we have more knowledge about child abuse than elder abuse. An increase in the number of elders as time moves on will affect the risk of elder abuse.
Elder Abuse is a relatively new term. It was first used in the 1970s, and is defined as “conduct that results in the physical, psychological, or material neglect, harm or injury to an elder.” (Wallace et al., 2019). Elder abuse is considered abuse on anybody over the age of 65. Elder abuse is classified by physical abuse, psychological abuse, material abuse, active neglect, and passive neglect. Physical abuse could include bruises, burns, fractures, lacerations/abrasions/hair loss, and forced sexual activity. Psychological abuse could include depression, being overly anxious or fearful of younger adults, sleep disorders, speech disorders, or hysteria. Material abuse could look like a lack of clothing, lack of food, loss of residence, lack of funds, or loss of personal property. Neglect could mean failing to care for an elder, not providing medication, or not taking them to the doctor when it is needed. (Wallace et al., 2019) Elder abuse is a form of family violence. It can occur at the hands of an overwhelmed caregiver. Health care professionals are typically the best line of defense as they see the elderly patient the most often.
In 1961, battered child syndrome was used to highlight the problem of child abuse and point out that physical abuse could be a cause of death to children. (Wallace et al., 2019) According to our text, “Physical child abuse may be defined as any act that results in a non-accidental physical injury by a person who has care, custody or control of a child.” (Wallace et al., 2019) Children who are physically abused are likely to experience poor outcomes for the rest of their life. Child abuse is another form of family violence. Child abuse is found in every area of town, it does not discriminate. There are various models that attempt to explain child abuse. The abuser’s personality could be the cause of the abuse, lack of bonding between parent and child could be a factor in child abuse, the parent may expect the child to take care of them, a parent’s mental illness could be a cause of child abuse, a dysfunctional family system, a lack of education or poverty or unemployment could lead to child abuse. (Wallace et al., 2019) Physical child abuse shows up with unexplained injuries, bruises, burns, fractures, head injuries, internal injuries, and sometimes homicide. (Wallace et al., 2019) Physical Child Abuse has physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences. Children who are abused have a higher chance of health issues in the future. Parts of their brain may not form properly or be smaller than children their age who were not abused. Psychologically they will struggle with executive functioning, cognitive skills, mental and emotional health, attachment and social difficulties, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. (Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect) Behaviorally they will have unhealthy sexual practices, alcohol and substance abuse, as well as juvenile delinquency. Society pays a price for child abuse and neglect in direct and indirect ways, everything from foster care and child welfare to long-term care and criminal justice system costs. (Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect)
The symptoms of abuse show up in very similar ways in both populations. The caregivers are the perpetrators, sometimes, that means family, and other times it could be non-family in a nursing home or childcare setting. Both forms of abuse show up physically and psychologically and have far-reaching implications. I think the cost to society of child abuse is greater than elder abuse just given the typical life span, one is over the age of 65, one could be a newborn and be looking at lifelong implications. I think there is more evidence of physical child abuse than elder abuse simply because children go out more. They are in daycare, school, after-school care, and extracurricular activities, all of which increase the likelihood of somebody seeing something and reporting it. The elderly population doesn’t always get out as much, especially if they are disabled. The only interaction is with the person caring for them, who could be abusing them, and possibly a doctor’s office. I don’t think elder abuse is reported as frequently because symptoms could be related to other medical conditions. For example, bruising on an elderly person could be abuse, but it could also be that they are on blood thinners for another condition and bumped their arm as they were moving through the house. Another reason that I don’t think it is reported as often is because there isn’t much education about what elder abuse looks like or how to spot it. There is more public knowledge and information on child abuse. Unless more education is provided to the public or more people volunteer to spend time with elderly people, I see an increase in elder abuse as more people reach that demographic.
