International perspectives on elder abuse / edited by Amanda Phelan.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Foucault : the flexible critique of welfare -- Goffman : interaction and identity negotiations -- Bourdieu : field, symbolic violence and domination -- Luhmann : welfare in communicative systems -- Neo-institutional theory : myths and legitimacy -- Risk theory : normality, deviation and neo-liberalism -- Transcending the approaches.

Elder abuse has been increasingly recognised over the past ten years in many countries and progress has been made in both understanding and addressing the issue. This volume provides an international overview of the topic. Opening with an examination of what elder abuse is, Amanda Phelan sets it in a theoretical context and looks at assessment and approaches to the issue in residential and community care environments. The book then presents a range of country studies, which provide an overview of the context of elder abuse in the country and a discussion of related policy, legislation, research and practice.