Elder Abuse and Neglect: Examining Caregiver Characteristics and Perceptions of their Elderly Care Receiver’s Under-Accommodative Behavior

Abstract

ABSTRACTBased on the literature on family violence, intergenerational communication, and elder abuse, and the communication accommodation theory, this study tested a revised model of communication-based model of elder abuse and neglect. Treating perceptions of elderly care receiver’s under-accommodative behaviors (i.e., communication problems, painful self-disclosure, and patronizing talk) as moderators, relationships between family caregiver’s characteristics and forms of elder abuse/neglect were examined. Adult family caregivers (N = 220) were surveyed. The results suggested partial support of the proposed model. Caregivers’ perceptions of their elderly care receivers’ under-accommodation significantly moderated the relationships between different caregiver characteristics and all three forms of abuse. Discussion focused on the theoretical contribution of the findings, and the potential influence of the three under-accommodative behaviors in the family caregiving context.