As the average life expectancy of individuals has rapidly increased in the past century, to around 79 years of age in the United States, there has also been an enormous increase in the amount of elder abuse due to health and financial issues. An estimated 4 million elderly Americans are subjected to some sort of physical, psychological, or other form of abuse and neglect. Abuse of the elderly is due to the increased elderly population and has only be exacerbated by the financial turmoil and stagnant median income in the United States. In addition to the financial reasons that cause the elderly to have need of care, they are also now increasingly vulnerable due to social isolation and mental impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease. Elder abuse
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In this case, the caretaker or family member involved would be stressed by the elder not being able to take care of themselves and perhaps even be angered by them not being able to function on the cognitive level of an adult due to their mental impairment. The expectation of the elder being self-sufficient, and the constant needs of the elderly only increasing on top of other stressors, can then be seen to lead to possible neglect or belittling behavior. Another way the perspective of the abusers can be influenced them beginning to no longer respect the elders as adults due to their mental impairment and deteriorating physical state, therefore making neglect and abuse more likely. With this view, they also will look at the caretaking of the elderly as a chore and another job that only increases their stress, which also increases the likelihood of …show more content…
Liberals would look at what is the root cause and would probably point a good portion of the blame on economic issues and the lack of federal funds to help take care of the elderly. Liberals would push for more funding in programs such as social security, insurance benefits and other programs that would provide funding for residential care. They would also focus on increasing awareness of the issue of elder abuse and most likely approve more funding for research into the subject. There would be a call for more education about elder abuse and more support for counseling to help those affected. In summary, liberals would take an active stance by pursuing more funding for social programs to help the elderly financially and raise awareness of the
In this case, the caretaker or family member involved would be stressed by the elder not being able to take care of themselves and perhaps even be angered by them not being able to function on the cognitive level of an adult due to their mental impairment. The expectation of the elder being self-sufficient, and the constant needs of the elderly only increasing on top of other stressors, can then be seen to lead to possible neglect or belittling behavior. Another way the perspective of the abusers can be influenced them beginning to no longer respect the elders as adults due to their mental impairment and deteriorating physical state, therefore making neglect and abuse more likely. With this view, they also will look at the caretaking of the elderly as a chore and another job that only increases their stress, which also increases the likelihood of …show more content…
Liberals would look at what is the root cause and would probably point a good portion of the blame on economic issues and the lack of federal funds to help take care of the elderly. Liberals would push for more funding in programs such as social security, insurance benefits and other programs that would provide funding for residential care. They would also focus on increasing awareness of the issue of elder abuse and most likely approve more funding for research into the subject. There would be a call for more education about elder abuse and more support for counseling to help those affected. In summary, liberals would take an active stance by pursuing more funding for social programs to help the elderly financially and raise awareness of the