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Through the lens afforded by two theories drawn from the discipline of social psychology, the purpose of this paper is to explain the evident continuing abuse of adults at risk living in care homes by the staff who should be looking after them.

By considering existing theories and research into the reasons why vulnerable adults are abused the paper proposes the relevance of other extant theories on the degradation of moral restraint and dehumanisation of victims, and on the social psychology of intergroup relations, to the perpetration of abuse.

The paper demonstrates how theories that explain the psychology of human behaviour in certain circumstances may be usefully applied to the inveterate social problem of the abuse of vulnerable adults living in care homes.

The paper offers the opportunity for the reader to consider how these theories of social psychology may be applied to explain and guide remedies to the persistent levels of abuse in English care homes, abuse that continues despite government oversight of care provided to adults who may be at risk by virtue of the activities of the statutory regulator and health and social care commissioners, and the interventions of safeguarding personnel.

This is a conceptual paper from which future research and theorising may arise to better understand the most fundamental causes of the abuse of older people in care homes in order to develop feasible and effective measures to overcome it.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from face-to-face interviews with three former care staff who were proven to have abused some of the older people living in the care and nursing homes in which they had once worked. The research sought to explore the intra-personal dynamics, personal characteristics and work experiences that led these staff to perpetrate abuse.

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with three former care and nursing home staff who had committed abusive acts and the data secured subjected to thematic narrative analysis.

None of the three people interviewed had intended to become care staff and reported that the interview and induction processes they experienced did little to establish their suitability for the work they would be undertaking or to prepare them for its demands. Participants expressed their generally negative perceptions of older people, particularly those living with dementia, and told of how they also felt that they were under pressure to conform with the often abusive care home regimes that they had entered. They also recounted some specific abusive practices developed to allow them to manage the constant tension between the time available to complete all of the tasks required when “caring” for older people, and revealed their perceptions of external scrutiny of care home conduct and the behaviours developed to deflect the effectiveness of this oversight. Two interview participants also revealed their unfavourable attitudes to some of the people they were employed to care for that were based upon perceptions of ethnic differences, and of how this had contributed to the abuse they perpetrated.

Though the research draws upon the experiences of only three former care staff, the data reveal some of the intra-personal dimensions of individual staff who have engaged in abusive acts, and illuminates how the care home environment with which they interact can engender conditions under which abuse is more likely to occur.

Unusually, the paper explores the characteristics, perceptions and experiences of care staff who have actually committed abusive acts against those entrusted to their care.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a research project designed to enhance knowledge of the current extent and nature of abuse in contemporary care homes for older people.

A self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to elicit both numerical and textual data that were subsequently subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The questionnaire was distributed to newly appointed care staff in five participating care homes providing care to older people to determine the nature of any abuse they may have witnessed in the homes in which they had previously worked.

A significant proportion of respondents had witnessed numerous occurrences of primarily psychological and physical abuse and neglect, perpetrated against the older people living in the care homes in which they had previously worked.

Although the research draws upon the experiences of only 197 anonymous questionnaire respondents, of whom 180 had witnessed abuse, data suggest that abuse continues to occur in some care homes for older people.

The research has revealed staffs’ recent experiences of a range of abusive acts and practices. When combined with two previous studies using the same or a similar methodology, the research also confirms the enduring presence of abuse in care homes. Findings again suggest that changes are required to current methods of external scrutiny and investigation of practices in care homes.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from one component of an empirical, mixed methods research project designed to determine the extent, nature and causes of abuse in contemporary independent sector care homes for older people.

A self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to elicit both numerical and textual data that were subsequently subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The questionnaire was distributed to newly appointed care staff in five participating care homes to determine the nature of any abuse they may have witnessed in the homes in which they had previously worked.

A significant proportion of respondents described instances of predominantly psychological and physical abuse and neglect and revealed hitherto undisclosed abusive practices.

Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 140 anonymous questionnaire respondents, of whom 94 had witnessed abuse, data suggest abuse continues to occur in some care homes for older people.

The research has revealed staffs’ recent experiences of a range of abusive acts and practices. Findings suggest that changes are required to current methods of external scrutiny and investigation of practices in care homes.

The purpose of this paper is to present some of the findings from an empirical, mixed methods research project that reveal the importance of the personal value frameworks held by individual staff in the prevention of abuse of older people in private sector care homes.

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with a sample of 36 care home personnel, including proprietors, care managers and care staff.

A significant number of respondents identified the importance of personal value frameworks among staff providing care as a potential contributory factor in the prevention of abuse of older people.

Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 36 care home personnel through interviews, data suggest that the personal evaluations of staff towards those in their care is a significant contributory factor to the occurrence of abuse.

The research has identified individual staff value frameworks as a causal factor in the occurrence of abuse. The research also confirms that the perceptions of “values” among respondents directly involved in the provision of care are at odds with common understanding of “values” often cited elsewhere in connection with staff recruitment and training as a means of preventing the occurrence of abuse.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of the assumption of altruism argued by the author to be a tendency among both the lay public, professionals and politicians, a generalised assumption that contributes to the long standing and obstinate presence of abuse of adults who are at risk throughout England, particularly older people living in care and nursing homes.

By examining available figures that depict the continuing abuse of vulnerable adults, and by drawing on research, the author offers a partial explanation for the longevity of abuse in English society.

The paper demonstrates how the concept of the assumption of altruism can explain to a degree the apparent enduring levels of abuse of adults who are at risk.

The paper offers the opportunity for the reader to consider some of the fundamental, higher order reasons for the persistent levels of abuse in England, abuse that endures despite the oversight by government of care provided to adults who maybe at risk by virtue of the activities of the statutory regulator and health and social care commissioners.

By presenting the incontrovertible evidence of enduring abuse, the paper introduces the concept of the assumption of altruism as a partial explanation for its continuing occurrence despite decades of policy and practice guidance designed to overcome it.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from an empirical research project designed to enhance knowledge of the current extent and nature of abuse in contemporary care homes for older people.

A self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to elicit both numerical and textual data that was subsequently subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The questionnaire was distributed to newly appointed care staff in six participating care homes providing care to older people to determine the nature of any abuse they may have witnessed in the homes in which they had previously worked.

A significant proportion of respondents described instances of predominantly psychological and physical abuse and neglect.

Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 194 anonymous questionnaire respondents, of whom 140 had witnessed abuse; data suggest that abuse continues to occur in some care homes for older people.

The research has revealed staffs’ recent experiences of a range of abusive acts and practices. Findings suggest that changes are required to current methods of external scrutiny and investigation of practices in care homes.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the relevance and importance of developing and making use of robust theory to explain and counter the tenacious social anomaly of the abuse of older people who live in care homes.

The activities of theorising and conducting research to gain revised theoretical comprehension of why abuse occurs in care homes, along with the enduring over reliance of those with an interest in safeguarding on existing theories borrowed from other fields to guide their activities are considered and discussed.

There is a pressing need for theory based understandings of the continuing abuse of older people and it is apparent that the development of such theory will be more productive if theorising and theory development are specific to certain types of abuse perpetrated in delineated settings.

The paper offers the opportunity for the reader to consider the significance of theorising and developing new theory in order to improve of the protection of potentially vulnerable adults by virtue of the guidance it can provide to the activities of policy makers, managers and practitioners.

This is a conceptual paper from which future theorising and research may arise to better understand the most fundamental causes of the abuse of older people in care homes (and elsewhere) in order to develop feasible and effective measures to overcome it.

The purpose of this paper is to present findings from face-to-face interviews undertaken with 16 care and nursing home managers employed in homes situated in two English local authorities. The research sought to explore managers’ perceptions of the role of contract monitoring in the prevention of abuse.

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 16 care and nursing home managers.

Though personnel employed by the local authority who conducted contract monitoring were generally thought of positively by care home managers on a personal level, their effectiveness was perceived to be limited as a result of their lack of experience and knowledge of providing care, and the methods that they were required to use.

Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 16 care and nursing home managers in two local authorities, data suggest that current contract monitoring activity is of limited utility in determining the true nature of care and the presence of abuse.

Unusually, the paper explores care and nursing home managers’ perceptions of contract monitoring processes in terms of how they perceive their effectiveness in preventing abuse.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the significant and high death toll of COVID-19 on care home residents and social care staff in England and Wales. These mortality figures, alongside differential treatment of residents and staff during the pandemic, are conceptualized as a form of structural abuse. Arguments are made for the inclusion of structural abuse as a separate category of elder abuse.

This paper is predominantly conceptual but it also draws on available secondary data, such as mortality statistics, media reports and developing research.

The lack of appropriate personal protective equipment, paucity of guidance and high mortality rate among care home staff and residents during the pandemic is indicative of social discourses that, when underpinned by ageism, reflect structural elder abuse.

The research is limited by its focus on a specific time period and its recency. It is also limited in not being based on primary empirical research but it remains exploratory and conceptual and provides a base for ongoing research in this area.

If structural elder abuse was to be included in classifications, it demands a rethink of social and health-care services and the policies and practices associated with them and reinforces the government message that safeguarding is everyone’s business.

Research concerning the effects and impact of COVID-19 are still in their early stages. However, the central element of originality in the paper concerns the linking of practices, policies and underlying social assumptions and structural, or societally ingrained, elder abuse.