Risk factors for elder abuse
Various risk factors increase the likelihood that an elderly person will become a victim of elder abuse, including an elderly person who:
Has memory problems (such as dementia)
Has a mental illness, either long-standing or recent
Has physical disabilities
Has depression, loneliness, or lack of social support
Abuses alcohol or other substances
Takes prescribed medications that impair judgment
Is verbally or physically combative with the caregiver
Has a shared living situation
Has a criminal historySeveral other risk factors increase the likelihood that a caregiver will participate in elder abuse, including a caregiver who:
Feels overwhelmed or resentful
Has a history of substance abuse or a history of abusing others
Is dependent on the older person for housing, finances, or other needs
Has mental health problems
Is unemployed
Has a criminal history
Has a shared living situationIn addition:

Lower income or poverty has been found to be associated with elder abuse. Low economic resources have been conceptualized as a contextual or situational stressor contributing to elder abuse. Living with a large number of household members other than a spouse is associated with an increased risk of abuse, especially financial abuse.Risk factors can also be categorized into individual, relationship, community, and sociocultural levels. At the individual level, elders who have poor physical and mental health are at higher risk. At the relationship level, a shared living situation is a huge risk factor for the elderly, and living in the same area as the abuser is more likely to result in abuse. At the community level, caregivers may knowingly or inadvertently cause social isolation of the elderly.
Also, failure to pay financial support to impoverished elders in jurisdictions which have filial responsibility laws, such as France, Germany, and most of the United States. Sexual: e.g. forcing a person to take part in any sexual activity without his or her consent, including forcing them to participate in conversations of a sexual nature against their will; which may also include situations where the person is no longer able to give consent (dementia). Neglect: e.g. depriving a person of proper medical treatment, food, heat, clothing, comfort, essential medication, or depriving a person of needed services to force certain kinds of actions, financial and otherwise. Neglect can include leaving an at-risk (i.e. fall risk) elder person unattended. The deprivation may be intentional (active neglect) or happen out of lack of knowledge or resources (passive neglect).In addition, some U.S. state laws also recognize the following as elder abuse:

Abandonment: deserting a dependent person with the intent to abandon them or leave them unattended at a place for such a time period that may be likely to endanger their health or welfare. Rights abuse: denying the civil and constitutional rights of a person who is old, but not declared by court to be mentally incapacitated. This is an aspect of elder abuse that is increasingly being recognized and adopted by nations. Self-neglect: any persons neglecting themselves by not caring about their own health, well-being or safety. Self-neglect (harm by self) is treated as conceptually different than abuse (harm by others). Elder self-neglect can lead to illness, injury, or even death.