An ecological framework for contextual risk factors in elder abuse by adult children

Future trends suggest both a continued growth of the elderly population, as well as the likelihood of increased demand for family caregiving which may , in turn, be associated with increasing rates of elder abuse. It is import ant to consider issues related to such caregiving, including potential abus e from an ecological perspective which, in turn, provides a fruitful basis for framing the problem of abuse as a set of contextually-based risk factor s. This paper focuses on the contextual risk factors using an applied ecolo gical model, a useful framework for understanding the intergenerational cha racter of elder abuse in families, for developing recommendations for empir ically-based action research, and for the development of community-based pr evention and intervention strategies.