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The portrayal of elder abuse in the national media

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Old Dominion University, 23529, Norfolk, VA

    Holly Beard & Brian K. Payne

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  1. Holly Beard
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  2. Brian K. Payne
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Correspondence to Brian K. Payne.

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Beard, H., Payne, B.K. The portrayal of elder abuse in the national media. Am J Crim Just 29, 269–284 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02885739

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