Exploring Risk of Elder Abuse Revictimization: Development of a Model to Inform Community Response Interventions.

A focus of community-based elder abuse response programs (EARP), such as Adult Protective Services, is to reduce the risk of revictimization among substantiated victims. While elder abuse (EA) risk factor research has predominantly focused on understanding the risk of initial EA onset among the general older adult population, understanding of revictimization risk among substantiated victims is weak. This study sought to identify conditions that perpetuate EA among substantiated victims. Data were collected from multiple sources: focus groups with multidisciplinary teams (n = 35), multidisciplinary team case revictimization risk evaluations (n = 10), and reviewing a random sample of case records (n = 250) from a large EARP in New York City. Sixty-two indicators of EA revictimization risk were identified across several ecosystemic levels: individual victim or perpetrator, victim-perpetrator relationship, and surrounding family, home, community, and sociocultural contexts. Findings carry implications for EARP practices to reduce EA recurrence and the development of measures to evaluate EARP intervention.

A systematic evaluation of a multidisciplinary social work-lawyer elder mistreatment intervention model.

This study introduces a conceptually based, systematic evaluation process employing multivariate techniques to evaluate a multidisciplinary social work-lawyer intervention model (JASA-LEAP). Logistic regression analyses were used with a random sample of case records (n = 250) from three intervention sites. Client retention, program fidelity, and exposure to multidisciplinary services were significantly related to reduction in mistreatment risk at case closure. Female gender, married status, and living with perpetrator significantly predicted unfavorable outcomes. This study extends the elder mistreatment program evaluation literature beyond descriptive/bivariate evaluation strategies. Findings suggest that a multidisciplinary social work-lawyer elder mistreatment intervention model is a successful approach.