Shedding light on elder abuse.

Elder abuse as a social problem has become the focus of nursing research only in the past decade. As information about the incidence and prevalence of spousal and child abuse came to light, data emerged regarding dependent elderly being abused by adult caregivers, often their children. Documenting and defining elder abuse has been problematic because of a lack of consensual definition and the social stigma surrounding the problem. Standardized assessment methods are still lacking. Nursing research studies focusing on abuse have begun to clarify the variables of abuse and have helped to describe potentially abusive family caregivers. These studies have laid the groundwork for generating theory that will be useful to practitioners to identify and intervene in this family violence arena.