Over the years, several investigators and service providers have indicated the need
for a tool to screen elderly victims for the possibility of abuse and neglect. We
examined over 100 items for their predictive value in discriminating cases of
abuse/neglect from comparable cases of elderly persons known not to be victims.
Data were collected by nine social/ health agencies on 50 cases of abuse/neglect and
47 control cases. Through a series of discriminant function data reduction analyses,
nine items were identified that were 94% accurate in classifying cases into
abuse/neglect and control groups. We discuss implications of these findings for
future research and program planning.
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