Key Words: Emotional abuse, Psychological abuse, Elder mistreatment, Rasch measurement, Abuse theory
The purpose of this study was to develop and test a self-report measure of psychological abuse (PA) of older adults. The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) defines emotional or PA as the infliction of anguish, pain, or distress through ver- bal or nonverbal acts (NCEA, 2003). Emotional/ PA (terms used synonymously) includes, but is not limited to, verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimi- dation, humiliation, and harassment. In addition, treating an older person like an infant; isolating an older person from his or her family, friends, or regular activities; and giving an older person the “silent treatment” and enforced social isolation are examples of emotional/PA (NCEA, 2003). Such treatment would typically occur in private and be difficult for third parties to detect.