Page 565 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

532 n VIoLENCE

Burgess (2002) conducted research to under- Adolescent violence is preventable behav-
stand children’s responses to family member ior that needs to be understood and treated.
V homicide and associations with complicated However, nursing research related to adoles-
bereavement, including childhood post- cent violence has been rather limited. Vessey,
traumatic stress disorder. duffy, o’Sullivan, and Swanson (2003) have
Elder abuse and neglect are significantly studied teasing, a precursor to bullying, and
underdiagnosed and underreported. The developed the Physical Appearance Related
National Center on Elder Abuse (n.d.) defines Teasing Scale-Revised instrument to assess
seven different types of elder abuse: physi- teasing in school-aged children. Future
cal, sexual, and emotional abuse; financial research should take into account risk and
exploitation; neglect; abandonment; and self- protective factors among the biological, psy-
neglect. Elder abuse is largely hidden under chological, and social-contextual aspects of
a shroud of family secrecy, in addition to the adolescent violence.
problem of not being recognized by health Violence is a ubiquitous problem that
care providers. A nursing scholarship by affects the health of individuals, families,
Fulmer and Gurland (1996) addressed elder and communities. Historically, within nurs-
mistreatment and elder abuse assessment. ing’s evolution as an applied science ser-
Phillips and Rempusheski (1985) studied vice profession, nurses have recognized a
diagnostic and intervention decisions in professional responsibility to care for those
elder abuse and neglect. affected by violence. Thus, nursing research
Researchers have developed valid and focuses on primary, secondary, and tertiary
reliable instruments to identify elders at intervention.
risk of abuse. Instruments include screen- Nursing research and evidence-based
ing tools for elder abuse or tools whose pur- practice focused on victims, survivors, and
pose is to assess existing cases of elder abuse perpetrators of violence provide the nec-
for future risk. Two elder abuse screening essary scientific foundation for improving
tools are the Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse quality of life, safety, and other health inter-
Screening Test and the Indicators of Abuse ventions related to violence and recovery.
Screen. Risk assessment tools for future developing knowledge about the myriad
abuse generally contain a list of indicators of human, social, structural, and environ-
or conditions which are rated with regard mental factors associated with violence
to the elder’s risk for future victimization. requires theoretical and research perspec-
Typical indicators include client characteris- tives to guide practice so that the health and
tics, environmental risk factors, support ser- well-being concerns of those individuals,
vices, historical abuse factors and patterns, families, and communities affected by vio-
and abuse factors (Wolf, 2003). There is a lence are appropriately addressed. Within a
paucity of male violence assessment instru- broad ecological-theoretical perspective that
ments specific to men. addresses human, social, developmental,
The epidemic of adolescent violence and environmental factors associated with
forces millions, including youth, families, violence and health, various topics have been
and communities, to cope with injury, dis- explored throughout the history of nursing
ability, and fatality. Homicide is a leading research on violence, including risk factors,
cause of death for adolescents. Two general battering, intimate partner violence, abuse
trajectories have been proposed to explain during pregnancy, hate crime, dating vio-
the development of adolescent violence. lence, child maltreatment, type and severity
one is the development of violence before of violent attacks, psychological and psycho-
puberty and another is violence beginning social characteristics, health consequences,
in adolescence. coping, and many others.