Mental health and criminal justice issues among perpetrators of elder abuse

Recent studies on elder abuse suggest that the pathology or impairment of t he abuser may be a stronger predictor of elder abuse than characteristics o f the victim. To examine the relationship between elder abuse, abuser patho logy, and the criminal justice system, the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) undertook a survey of older victims of reported domestic abus e seeking assistance from the DFTA Elderly Crime Victims Resource Center. P reliminary findings from the survey indicate that impaired abusers were sig nificantly younger than unimpaired abusers and more likely to live with the ir elderly victims, to be unemployed, and to have a history of involvement with the criminal justice system.