Caregiving and Elder Abuse and Neglect—Developing a New Conceptual Perspective

Abstract

Although in recent years more prevalence data on elder abuse is available, especially from Europe, there is lack of a consistent conceptual paradigm which might help in developing more unified definitions and understanding of the factors related to elder abuse and neglect, especially in domestic settings. The paper attempts to develop a new conceptual perspective to understand this phenomenon of elder abuse in familial settings, based on linkages between the paradigms of intergenerational family solidarity-conflict and intergenerational family ambivalence, and stress theories especially the ABCX model of coping with stress situations.