Introduction
Abuse of older adults is a serious problem, but it tends to be highly overlooked or completely ignored in the current discourse on discrimination and violence. The given critique will focus on Casella et al.’s (2024) article “Is There a Lesser Value Type of Violence?” The main point of the piece is that the public and scientific community pay little attention to older people’s abuse, which is why it is not addressed properly.
The authors assert that elder abuse – particularly prevalent among women – remains a significant yet largely silent societal issue. Their research showcases the urgent need for increased awareness and more robust studies in this field to better understand and address the complexities of elder abuse. The article is limited in scope and offers no practical solutions; however, it increases awareness of the issue, covers all essential areas comprehensively, and uses data as evidence.
Literature Review and Findings
Casella et al. (2024) conducted a literature review focusing on how many papers addressed the subject. More specifically, the authors conducted an electronic literature search with the keywords “elderly abuse” across a range of scientific platforms. The findings indicated a low number of studies on the topic – around seven articles out of 8439 studied the problem (Casella et al., 2024). They showcase that violence against older people, women especially, manifests in different forms: physical, institutional, discriminatory, economic-financial, and psychological, among others.
The paper essentially states that elder abuse is prevalent, but it still receives minimal reporting and inadequate coverage both in scientific literature and in societal discourse. The authors emphasize the importance of social and structural changes to address this issue. As a result, they call upon scientists to properly analyze the epidemiological and medico-legal aspects of this abuse category; hence, greater awareness is needed.
Strengths
One should note that the article has several key strengths. Firstly, the authors address a critical and underexplored issue in public health: elder abuse. For example, they comprehensively cover all different forms of abuse – from physical to psychological to institutional elements – and provide a detailed perspective into how complex the problem is in reality (Casella et al., 2024). Secondly, the methodology involves a systematic review of the literature, which is why the statements they provide are based on data and evidence. For instance, only two direct studies were conducted in the last two decades, both during the pandemic.
One study by Liu et al. (2022) found that older adults were increasingly mistreated and neglected during COVID-19. Yan et al.’s (2022) article is the second literature – it reveals that older women were more likely to be mistreated if they were lonely. Casella et al. (2024) increased awareness of the lack of attention. They show that out of thousands of pieces of academic literature, only two explicitly study the topic.
Weaknesses
However, the article also has two major weaknesses: scope and practicality. The research methodology is thorough, but it still limits its scope to English-language articles, thereby overlooking publications by the international research community. For example, cultures with greater respect for elders may have more research on the issue, and two of the studies mentioned were conducted by researchers of Asian background (Liu et al., 2022; Yan et al., 2022). Hence, this limitation could affect the generalizability of the findings.
In addition, the article primarily focuses on identifying the issue rather than offering appropriate solutions or measures. Casella et al. (2024) simply call for paying more attention to the problem. They could have gone deeper into the subject by identifying potential ways to minimize the abuse rates.
Conclusion
In sum, the article is exceptional at spreading awareness, using evidence, and providing comprehensive coverage on the topic; however, there are limitations, such as a narrow scope and the lack of pragmatic recommendations. Casella et al. (2024) revealed that in the last two decades, only two pieces of research directly studied the problem of older people abuse; thus, it increased awareness, provided data, and identified key areas. In the entire database of the English academic literature, only seven articles addressing the subject exist. The language focus limits the overall scope and reduces generalizability. Future research should focus on understanding and pinpointing what practical measures can be utilized to reduce the prevalence of elderly abuse.
References
Casella, C., Aquino, C. I., Sarno, L., Di Donna, G., & Capasso, E. (2024). Is there a lesser value type of violence? Older people abuse: “The silence of the lambs.” Legal Medicine, 66, 1-2.
Liu, P. J., Wang, A., Schwab-Reese, L. M., & Stratton, S. K. (2022). Elder mistreatment victims during the COVID-19 pandemic: Administrative data from San Francisco adult protective services. Journal of Family Violence, 37, 1027–1040.
Yan, E., Lai, D. W. L., Lee, V. W. P., Bai, X., & K. L. Ng, H. (2022). Abuse and discrimination experienced by older women in the era of COVID-19: A two-wave representative community survey in Hong Kong. Violence Against Women, 28(8), 1750-1772.