A social capital approach to the prevention of elder mistreatment

The current demographic landscape features an increasing number of elderly individuals in the care of some trusted other. Being cared for by a trusted other raises the potential for mistreatment of the elder by that trusted other. The goal of this paper is to explore the possibility of preventing elder mistreatment by increasing the bridging and bonding social capital available to caretakers. Attending to social capital lets researchers expand their focus toward areas rarely examined through current stress-outcome models (e.g., interpersonal interactions). First, elder mistreatment and social capital are defined and discussed. Then, a model is forwarded that details how social capital might mitigate the effects of caretaker stress and decrease the probability that caretakers will engage in elder mistreatment in both home and long-term care institutional settings. Finally, implications for future research and practical intervention are discussed.