Citation

Storey JE, Rogers MM, Hohn RE. Br. J. Soc. Work 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/bjsw/bcae067

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Older adult homicide (OAH) is the most severe, yet understudied, form of older adult abuse. This study examined the case, victim and perpetrator characteristics of OAH. A secondary analysis of national data from England and Wales (2008-2019) was conducted where cases of non-stranger OAH (victims aged sixty years and over) were compared to adult homicide (victims aged eighteen to fifty-nine years) at the case, victim (n = 3,274) and perpetrator (n = 2,763) levels. Logistic regression models used to identify characteristics that were OAH risk factors, showed only a slight increase in predictive power but high accuracy in classifying adult homicide cases. Nevertheless, some risk factors known to be predictors of older adult abuse were significant predictors of OAH (e.g. living with the perpetrator, the perpetrator's mental state). Implications for research, policy and practice are discussed.