Table of Contents

About This Course

1. Introduction to Elder Abuse
2. The Basics of Elder Abuse
3. Substance Use and Other Risk Factors
4. Screening and Assessment
5. Intervention and Treatment
6. Preventing Elder Abuse

Supplements
Case Studies
References
Resources

Out of the Shadows
Uncovering Substance Use and Elder Abuse

Substance Use by Perpetrators of Elder Abuse

A perpetrator of elder abuse also may misuse or abuse alcohol or other drugs. At any age, drug and alcohol abuse can play a role in violence before, during, or after an incident. In the 1970s, surveys of professionals and paraprofessionals in contact with older people listed alcoholism among the major perceived correlates of elder abuse. A later comparison study from 1989, which sampled abused and nonabused elders from one site, found one-third of the abusive caregivers, but none of the nonabusing caregivers, had a drinking problem. ref

Studies have reported:

• Problem drinking in a partner can increase the chances of intimate partner abuse eight times and can double the risk of femicide or attempted femicide by a partner. ref
• In reported cases of elder abuse by adult children reported in Wisconsin, 44 percent of the sons and 14 percent of the daughters had alcohol or drug problems. ref
• Abusers were twice as likely as nonabusers to have drank alcoholic beverages during the last 2 years. Nearly two-thirds of abusers who used alcohol drank daily. ref
• The perpetrator was a substance abuser in 13 percent of reported cases reviewed in a study by the Illinois Department on Aging. In cases in which the abuser was chemically dependent, physical abuse occurred 33 percent of the time, and emotional abuse occurred 63 percent of the time.ref