The abuse of elderly people from the paradigm of the violence / El maltrato a las personas mayores desde el paradigma de la violencia

This paper adds to the methodological and theoretical debates used in the study of violence exercised towards the elderly. Thus, we propose to conceptualize and refine properly the term “violence”, a task that we consider crucial when defining and characterizing the different aspects of violent acts against elderly people. Additionally, we conduct a brief revision of the different theories regarding violence that are relevant within the sociological context and allow us to explain the phenomenon of the abuse of the elderly. Finally, we analyze which definitions and theories are the most appropriate for the study of the violence against the elderly.