Relatives Can Abuse the Elderly

This is sad: More than 50 percent of family members looking after relatives with dementia admit they have behaved abusively toward their relative.

Although physical abuse was rare, most say they have sworn or screamed at their relatives with dementia who can also be abusive or aggressive toward them. Nobody is proud about their bad behavior. All are frustrated care givers assigned their roles without any training.

The most common form of abuse was screaming or yelling at the person with dementia, then came insults or swearing and then threats of sending the person to a nursing home.

The British study is aimed at reducing abusive behavior in such families. The incidence of such abuse in the United States is not known, since comparable studies have not been done here although there are hotlines for Alzheimer's care givers.