A multivariate examination of explanations for the occurrence of elder abuse

The goal of the study was to determine the relative strength of four major explanations for the rise of elder abuse among a population in transition from traditional to modern culture. The study compared a sample of 120 abused elderly Arab Israelis with a control group of 120 nonabused older adults from the same background. The abuse status outcome was regressed in a hierarchical logistic procedure on indicators of sociodemogrophic status, dependency, modernization, and social integration. The results underscored the multiple explanations for elder abuse in the study population and the predominance of the combined factors of modernization and social integration.