126). Although there are an increasing number of elderly in the United States today with many more expected in the future, the study of elder abuse is of fairly recent origin. During the last three decades of the 20th century, following the "discovery" of child abuse and domestic violence, scholars and professionals started taking an active interest in the subject of elder abuse. This increased attention from the academic community, together with a clear indication from the respective state and federal governments that they were willing to intervene in family matters and the growing aging population of elders at risk for violence in the home, makes it understandable what elder abuse has gained public and scholarly attention in recent years. In this regard, Nadien (1995) notes that, "Violence against the elderly, often referred to as elder abuse, emerged as a serious concern only in the late 1970s and early 1980s....
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