Study of elder abuse within diverse cultures

The article provides an overview of the challenges to cross-cultural and cross-national research on elder abuse. There are conceptual and methodological difficulties in undertaking comparative studies within and between countries. As an example of the need to address cultural diversity within a country, elder abuse efforts in the U.S., UK, and Israel are described. The most pressing need for cross-national research on abuse involves a common definition of such adversities against the elderly that is reflective of the values within a country and at a sufficient level of discourse to embrace diverse conceptualizations of the problem.