Elder Abuse in the Current Busy World - Case Study Example

Elder Abuse Abstract Caring of elderly people is a growing concern in the current busy world. Most of the family members may have some kind of engagement like their professional work or studies which prevent them from looking after the elderly ones properly. Elder people usually forced to stay in the family in an isolated atmosphere with no one to speak or nothing to do which will create psychological problems also along with the age related physical problems. This paper briefly analyses the case history of an old lady Mamie who was 87 years of age staying with her divorced psychologically disordered son. Introduction We are living in a world of different types of abuses like child abuse, female abuse, elder abuse, sexual abuse, physical and mental abuse etc. Abuses are mostly resulted from the struggle for satisfying the physical and mental needs of a person in which the stronger ones always dominate the weaker ones. This world is meant for stronger ones and it is difficult for a weaker person to survive in this world without having the assistance of a stronger one. Elder abuse is defined as the deliberate torture of elder people physically/ mentally or it is the improper care extended to them by their children or relatives at a time when they need it badly. Elder abuse mostly happening in the family; but it can happen anywhere else like in the society, hospital or shelter homes. “Domestic elder abuse, like other forms of family violence, occurs behind closed doors in the privacy of the home. In 1989 one congressional committee estimated that 1.5 million cases of elder abuse occur each year” (Wallace, p.262) Mamie’s case analysis in general Mamie, the 87 year old helpless lady was staying with her only son Meldrick who in fact was a widower and a paranoid schizophrenia patient. From the setting itself, it is clear that she will not get adequate care from her son or abused by her son because of the reasons cited below. First of all an elderly lady always needs the assistance of a female person in order to execute her essential needs like toileting, bathing, dressing etc. Since she was too old and was suffering from memory loss to senility and incapacitated by degenerative arthritis, she needs all kinds of physical and mental attention in order to complete her life in this earth peacefully. Morally and legally it is her right to have a peaceful end to her life in this earth with the help of her children or relatives for whom she had spend most of her times when she was healthy. Secondly, since her only son Meldrick, was a divorcee he may not have the assistance of his wife in assisting Mamie. Meldrick can assist Mamie in getting proper medical attention and care if he was a normal well behaved son. But since he was a divorcee, his emotional problems may force him to stay away from Mamie without giving proper care to her. The most important reason for my assumption that Mamie was severely abused is based on the mental stage of Meldrick. Meldrick was a victim of the mental disease paranoid schizophrenia which has underlined my doubt about the torture suffered by Mamie at the hands of Meldrick. ‘The main symptoms of this mental disorder are Auditory hallucinations, such as hearing voices, Delusions, such as believing a co-worker wants to poison you, Anxiety, Anger, Aloofness, Violence, Verbal confrontations, Patronizing manner, Suicidal thoughts and behavior etc’ (Paranoid schizophrenia) Mamie was a victim of all the cruelties of Meldrick which is evident from the bruises she suffered though Meldrick insisted that it was caused as he was lifting her from bed to wheelchair or as he was helping in and out of the car. Meldrick’s explanation is unbelievable since he was mental patient. From the reports collected by Mamie’s daughter Moira, it is clear that Mamie was abused heavily by Meldrick. It is not proper to take an aged lady without proper mobility with him wherever he goes; like for drinking at bars, playing cards at club, etc. The reports showed that she had to stay inside the car for long hours till Meldrick returns and to reach home. Mamie actually needs rest and care at this evening period of her life which was denied by Meldrick. In my opinion, Mamie’s daughter Moira is also responsible for this pathetic condition of Mamie. Since she was the only one left with proper physical and mental health in their family she can take Mamie with her for giving proper care. Even though she has received several reports about the improper care to Mamie, she only tried to consult the issue Meldrick rather than taking proper action of taking her along with her. Moira has every right to protect her mother from the hands of a psychological patient, if she is willing to do so. But she tried only to discuss the financial issues with her brother. Meldrick, in fact looted all the money he got for Mamie’s care from her Social Security and Medicare assistance for drinking and playing purposes. Moreover he has taken money from his sister also for giving proper care to Mamie. Mamie’s case analysis with respect to Wallace’s theories Harvey Wallace in his book, Family Violence: Legal, Medical, and Social Perspective has cited co many theories as reasons for elder abuse. Out of the numerous theories in this book, I think the Psychopathology theory, Social exchange theory and the Family stress theory are relevant in this case of Mamie and Meldrick. Psychopathology theory of elder abuse is based on the assumption that the abuser may have mental disorder (Wallace, p.268) In Mamie’ s case her only son Meldrick was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia for which he has taken meditations earlier. In normal case, nobody will try to abuse their beloved parents under any circumstances. Only a disordered mind will be able to engage in elder abuse without having any guilty consciousness. Social exchange theory of elder abuse believes that the victims increased dependency of the abuser results in acts of abuse (Wallace, p.268) In Mamie’s case; she was forced to depend heavily on her only son, Meldrick because of her only daughter’s negligence. Meldrick was aware of the fact that his sister may not be interested much in looking after their mother and hence he has decided to convert the pathetic conditions of Mamie into money by collecting as much as money from his sister and from Mamie’s social security fund. The family stress theory of elder abuse states that the induced stress within the family may result in elder abuse. (Wallace, p.268) The family history of Meldrick was not a good one since his wife has taken divorce. The strained relationship with his wife might have developed a feeling of vengeance in the mind of Meldrick. His mental problems combined with family problems might have forced him to keep a sadistic approach towards females. Unfortunately Mamie, his mother was the only one at his immediate vicinity and he has exercised all his revenge and grudge towards female on his mother Mamie. Conclusions Mamie was clearly abused by her son Meldrick both physically and mentally by not giving her proper care at the time when she needed it badly. Meldrick was more interested in her money rather than giving assistance to her. Moreover Meldrick has tortured Mamie physically also which is evident from the bruises appeared on her body. The major reason for Meldrick’s behaviour can be attributed to his disordered mental stages and family setups. Since he was a divorcee, he treated everything surrounded him for taking vengeance. Mamie’s daughter is also partly responsible for Mamie’s sympathetic condition since she has not taken any actions to save Mamie from the hands of a psychologically disordered person. In short both the children Meldrick and Moira, equally responsible for Mamie’s present condition. References 1. Wallace, Harvey, Family Violence: Legal, Medical, and Social Perspective 2. Paranoid schizophrenia, 2009, Retrieved on 30 June 2009 from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/paranoid-schizophrenia/ds00862/dsection=symptoms Read More