The portrayal of elder abuse in the national media

Over the last two decades, researchers and policy makers have begun to devote more attention to the problem of elder abuse. Still, compared to studies on other types of family violence, research on elder abuse is scarce. To better understand how elder abuse is portrayed in the media and using “newsm...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Beard, Holly (Author)
Contributors: Payne, Brian K.
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2005
In: American journal of criminal justice
Year: 2005, Volume: 29, Issue: 2, Pages: 269-284
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Keywords:
Background Check
Family Violence
Child Sexual Abuse
Child Abuse
Domestic Violence
Description
Summary:Over the last two decades, researchers and policy makers have begun to devote more attention to the problem of elder abuse. Still, compared to studies on other types of family violence, research on elder abuse is scarce. To better understand how elder abuse is portrayed in the media and using “newsmaking criminology” as a theoretical framework, this study considers how 11 newspapers describe the phenomenon. In all, 530 articles about elder abuse were content analyzed using standard rules of content analysis. Results suggest that certain types of elder abuse are excluded from the press. In addition, the press tends to define elder abuse as a crime, but not as a domestic violence offense. Implications are provided.
ISSN:1936-1351
DOI:10.1007/BF02885739