Pathophysiological signs and symptoms

Fulmer (1984)

Lachs and Fulmer (1993)

Dyer et al. (2000)

Haviland and O’Brien (1989)

O’Brien (1986)

Uses items such as unexplained bruising, dehydration, urine burns, fractures.

Subjective and objective clinical observations as documented by health care clinicians.

Poor sensitivity and specificity.

Conflict Tactic Scale

Straus (1978)

Perception of upsetting and injurious circumstances in a person’s life.

19-item self-report, e.g., “Has anyone threatened you with a knife or gun?”

Chronbach’s alpha reliability: 0.88. Content validity 0.80. Available in Spanish.

Elder Assessment Instrument

Fulmer (1984)

Provides information to clinicians to better inform judgments about risk of elder mistreatment.

40-item screening tool with both subjective and objective items to determine if an older person should be referred for suspected elder mistreatment.

Content validity 0.83. Interrater agreement 0.84. Available in Spanish.

The QUALCARE Scale

Phillips et al. (1990a, 1990b)

Assessment of six areas: physical, medical management, psychosocial, environmental, human rights, and financial.

53-item observational rating scale designed to quantify and qualify family caregiving.

Extensive psychometrics reported: Interrater agreement range: 0.79-0.88. Chronbach’s alpha: 0.81-0.95 on 6 subscales.

Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test

Neale et al. (1991)

Assessment of physical, financial, psychological, and neglectful situations.

15-item assessment screen for detecting suspected elder abuse and neglect.

Discriminant function analysis: 9 items identified 94% of cases. Three conceptual domains: violation of personal rights, characteristics of vulnerability, and potentially abusive situations.