Cycle Of Violence In Families

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention standardly defines elder abuse as “any abuse and neglect of persons age 60 or older by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust” (CDC, Elder Abuse). It is always thought that the elderly are treated with honor, dignity and respect but many of the elderly have been abused and neglected as much if not worse than the children we spoke of in our previous discussions. Who seriously could hurt these frail people, someone’s grandparents, possibly even your own; persons who because of the aging process have lost their ability to fight back and are being bullied or attacked by someone in a position of trust. It is estimated that 70% to 90% of the perpetrators of elderly

Anyone can be a victim, any age, sex, race, culture, religion, education, employment, marital status or sexual orientation. Women however, are more likely to become victims than men. As for the perpetrator of abuse, they have no typical manifestation. In public the abuser may appear loving and friendly towards their partner and or family. They commonly have low self-esteem, and don't like to take responsibility for their actions. So they may try to hide the abuse by inflicting injuries that will not require medical attention. Abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological. Abusive persons are usually people who like to be in control of other people. Here this form of control is usually a behavior, which is learnt as a means to getting what they want.

Elder abuse is a family matter, most of the date indicated that adult children are the abusers. Spouses and other family members are also part of the abuse but not as much as adult children. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, almost 90% of abusers were family members and almost 62% of all cases of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of adults living at home engage abuse by the other people. You would think that caregivers would be more likely to mistreat the elders, since the elders are not family, sadly that is not the

Abuse can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. However, it is so alarming that more and more elderly people suffer from abuse everyday. Many elderly adults are being abused in their homes and even in care facilities such as nursing homes responsible for their care. How can elderly groups be vulnerable to abuse and/or harm to self and others? And

Unfortunately the cycle of violence has lived up to it’s name. As a child not only was I

Abuse can happen to anyone, but elderly adults residing in nursing homes are more vulnerable and have a higher risk for abuse (Rasansky Law Firm, 2006, para. 1). Elders are among the fastest growing in the population, and because of this many more elderly

Children and young adults are also vulnerable sometimes just as much to physical, sexual, grooming and emotional abuse. This could be for several different reasons, we like to think the elderly are more educated and have life experiences that children don’t and are still developing but along that path this makes these individuals for those reason’s alone vulnerable to different kinds of abuse.

Most children are not at risk of abuse in their family homes however there are situations that increase the risk. However stresses and strains on the family can cause one or both of the parents to react in anger and take it out on the child. It is usually the most vulnerable or the youngest member of the family unit who is the victim of the abuse. Abuse is usually as a result of the parents having bad parenting skills or not having an attachment in the family.

· Physical abuse. Contrary to common belief, many elderly victims of physical abuse are high functioning. The abuser is typically a family member, often the adult offspring of the victim. The abuser may be a long-term dependent of the victim because of health or financial issues and may take out resentment for this dependence on the elderly victim. These victims are generally aware that they are being mistreated, but their sense of parental or family obligation makes them reluctant to cut off the abuser.

To better understand the scope of the problem, it is crucial that society knows what is considered as elder abuse and why it is important to resolve this issue. Elder abuse refers to any intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. There are many forms in which an elder can be abused, “Elder Abuse and Neglect” Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services distinguishes between the five most common types of elder abuse as well as their effects and/or common signs and symptoms for each. These types of abuse include physical abuse,

Domestic Violence can include many forms of abuse, such as verbal, psychological, emotional, financial, physical, sexual, or spiritual. In many relationships, there is a cycle of violence that repeats over and over. This cycle includes three phases: tension building, explosion, and honeymoon phase. During tension building, minor incidents of physical or emotional abuse may occur. The explosion phase includes more violent acts of abuse. During the honeymoon phase, the abuser may apologize or make promises that the abuse will never happen again. Because this cycle of violence repeats itself, abuse often escalates over time, sometimes leading to the murder of a victim (Domestic Violence

While elder abuse happens across the social spectrum. Social isolation and mental impairment (such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease) are two factors that may make an older person more vulnerable to abuse. In some situations, studies show that living with someone else (a caregiver or a friend) may increase the chances for abuse to occur. A history of domestic violence may also make a senior more susceptible to abuse.

Domestic violence occurs when a person applies control and power in a relationship through physical, sexual, mental, or psychological-emotional abuse. Domestic violence includes sibling, elder, spouse, and even child abuse. There are many types of domestic violence, and domestic violence has become more common worldwide.

The theory that best connects with the issue of family violence is systems theory. This theory entails that the “family as a system is thought to be best understood through the recognition that family members (as the parts of the system) interact with one another in such a manner that, over time, these interactions become patterned behavior” (Sutphin, McDonough, Schrenkel, 2013) Every family member that is within this family are characterized as subsystems. The main sub-systems are parent-parent, parent-child, and child-child. In most cases, what happens in the parent-parent relationship impacts both the parent-child relationship and the child-child relationship. A type of violence that can occur between the parent and parent relationship

Domestic violence is a prevalent issue that has enormous consequences for both the victimized individuals and their families. There are many injuries, deaths, rapes, and separation of families, and other fatalities which can all be interconnected to domestic violence. Which raises the question who are the perpetrators? why are they violent? Were they also abused? The answers to these questions may shed some insight on what goes on inside the mind of an abusive and violent individual.