Elder Mistreatment in India

Abstract

Elder mistreatment is a global phenomenon. Research and interventions on elder mistreatment considerably lag behind other forms of family violence, especially in Asian developing countries such as India. Globally, India has the second largest older adult population; however, information on the prevalence rates and causes of elder mistreatment is scarce. In this chapter, through employing an ecological framework, a critical evaluation of the extant literature on the prevalence rates and causes of elder mistreatment in India is conducted. The prevalence rates of 5–50% show that elder mistreatment is highly prevalent in urban and rural India. Disrespect (when measured) is most common followed by psychological/verbal abuse, neglect, physical, and financial abuses. In India, studies have predominantly focused on the characteristics of the older adults who have been mistreated. Consequently, very little is known about the perpetrators characteristics, family/relationship, and macro-level factors associated with elder mistreatment in India. Conceptual and methodological limitations include absence of universal definition of elder mistreatment, small and unrepresentative sample sizes, and ad hoc instruments. In India, for effective interventions, baseline data on elder mistreatment through empirically rigorous research are the need of the hour.