“…Research literature regarding elder abuse and legislation is sparse (Tatara 1995;Loue 2001;Payne 2001;. Research has been conducted focusing on police perceptions about elder abuse and the relationship between older persons' victimization rates and high fear of crime (Dolan 1989;Daniels 1999;Payne 1999;Payne 2000).…”
Adult Protective Services statutes designate penalties for those who inflict abuse on elders. These penalties are either civil or criminal, with criminal penalties delineated as misdemeanors or felonies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship of criminal penalties for the infliction of abuse on the rates of reported, investigated, and substantiated domestic elder abuse for all states. The District of Columbia and forty-three states' APS-related statutes make elder abuse crimes felonies while thirty provide misdemeanors for some or all aspects of elder abuse. Afer taking into account demographic factors that influence investigation rates, states were found to have higher investigation rates iftheir statute made abuse a felony, had longer prison terms, tracked reports of abuse allegations, required reporting by professionals, and had more words in the definitions of abuse. After taking into account demographic factors that influence substantiation Downloaded by [Wayne State University] at 17:02 26 November 2014 52 Journal of Crime h Justice rates, states were found to have higher rates ifthe statute made abuse a felony, tracked reports of abuse allegations, and had more words in the definitions of abuse. States recognizing the seriousness of elder abuse by listing harsher penalties may convey this commitment to investigators, who are therefore more likely to investigate and substantiate abuse allegations.
“…Research literature regarding elder abuse and legislation is sparse (Tatara 1995;Loue 2001;Payne 2001;. Research has been conducted focusing on police perceptions about elder abuse and the relationship between older persons' victimization rates and high fear of crime (Dolan 1989;Daniels 1999;Payne 1999;Payne 2000).…”
Adult Protective Services statutes designate penalties for those who inflict abuse on elders. These penalties are either civil or criminal, with criminal penalties delineated as misdemeanors or felonies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship of criminal penalties for the infliction of abuse on the rates of reported, investigated, and substantiated domestic elder abuse for all states. The District of Columbia and forty-three states' APS-related statutes make elder abuse crimes felonies while thirty provide misdemeanors for some or all aspects of elder abuse. Afer taking into account demographic factors that influence investigation rates, states were found to have higher investigation rates iftheir statute made abuse a felony, had longer prison terms, tracked reports of abuse allegations, required reporting by professionals, and had more words in the definitions of abuse. After taking into account demographic factors that influence substantiation Downloaded by [Wayne State University] at 17:02 26 November 2014 52 Journal of Crime h Justice rates, states were found to have higher rates ifthe statute made abuse a felony, tracked reports of abuse allegations, and had more words in the definitions of abuse. States recognizing the seriousness of elder abuse by listing harsher penalties may convey this commitment to investigators, who are therefore more likely to investigate and substantiate abuse allegations.
“…The term capacity is used here to refer to an individual's decision-making ability. In contrast, the term competence reflects a legal judgment that an individual has the minimal level of mental, cognitive, or behavioral functioning required to perform or assume a specified legal role (Bisbing, McMenamin, & Granville, 1995;Loue, 2001). It is important to recognize that being diagnosed with a particular condition is "relevant to, but not determinative of, incapacity for informed consent" (High, Whitehouse, Post, & Berg, 1994).…”
Section: Assessing Capacity To Consentmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…They may fear that if they refuse to participate in a particular research study, they will suffer the withdrawal of such assistance, a diminution in the quality of this assistance, or complete abandonment. This may be of particular concern to individuals living in institutions, such as nursing homes or mental hospitals reported will depend on whether the particular situation is encompassed in the state's definition of abuse, whether the elderly individual is within the age group specified in the state's definition of "elderly," whether the elderly person meets the definition of state residence or a physical presence requirement set forth in the governing state statute, whether the researcher is in a category of persons that is mandated by the state law to report elder abuse, and whether the researcher has obtained a certificate of confidentiality to exempt him or her from the reporting requirement (Loue, 2001).…”
It is critical that cognitively impaired adults be permitted to participate in research in order to develop a greater understanding of the underlying causes of the impairments and strategies to prevent or ameliorate their impact. Significant ethical and legal issues may arise in the recruitment and enrollment of these persons as study participants, due to difficulties in understanding information, uncertainty regarding the existence of sufficient mental capacity to provide informed consent to participate, and the potential for coercion to participate as a function of limited capacity and dependence on others for care. This article explores these issues and suggests mechanisms to maximize the understanding of information and facilitate the cognitively impaired elders' expression of choice during incapacity.
“…With these variations in terms and definitions, cross-study comparisons are difficult (Loue, 2001) and comparison of state elder abuse data is hindered.…”
Section: History Elder Abuse Definitionsmentioning
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