People do not want to bring authority in. Do not want to have police come in to address issues of exploitation by an adult child. Or another relative. Not only is there shame, but there is sometimes feeling of responsibility, like what have I done wrong that my kid isn't doing better. The fairly sad and common statement is he's really a good boy, a good girl, doesn't really mean to do that.
Elder abuse is really a complex phenomena.
And when you're talking about elder abuse, you're really talking about two types. There's elder abuse that is neglect, which is omission, and there is elder abuse that is commission which is elder abuse that can be physical, financial, as well as psychological. Dr. Penny Harris is a sociologist, heading up the aging studies program at John Carroll University. She says the generation gap may contribute to an older person's reluctance to speak out about his or her situation. They don't want to bring any shame to their family.