LA VULNERABILITA ALL’ABUSO IN SENESCENZA: CARATTERISTICHEINDIVIDUALI E INTERVENTI DI TUTELA

Elderly people may show a condition of vulnerability to abuse specifically associated to aging. Elder abuse occur through some main forms: physical, psychological, financial and sexual; the analysis of personal dynamics associated to aging may help identify potential protective factors and understand risk factors for elder abuse. In particular, individual coping processes, adjustment ability to changes related to aging and community support strategies may work as protective factors as well as elements for effective treatment. Elder abuse is a complex phenomenon that should be dealt taking into account a multiplicity of aims that allow to maintain a balance between the right of self-determination and the need to interrupt the abuse. Empirical data have led to identify specific types of intervention to protect elderly people and specific protective factors to be made available for different typologies of abuse