ABSTRACT
Summary Elder abuse and neglect is an extreme example of what can go wrong in caring relationships. It is not exclusively intergenerational in form, but is distinctive in so far as it is defined as a problem of old age and that carers other than spouses are more often than not younger than the nominated victim. Mistreatment has most commonly been identified in families and in institutional care, both of which are intergenerational contexts. It exists in the context of ageist stereotyping that may act as permessors for such behaviour. In this chapter, we look at the way that mistreatment has been defined and has emerged as a social problem. It is suggested that the area has spread in terms of awareness-raising, but has not grown in terms of understanding of the issues involved. The field has been subject to binary oppositions that may indicate the need for higher degrees of Generational Intelligence to be at work. In order to cope with the complexity of damaged intergenerational relations, the adult-adult nature of the relationship needs to be recognized and a sufficient degree of ambiguity and ambivalence tolerated so that the problem can be contained and understood.
