In the early theoretical models, the level of stress of caregivers was seen as a risk factor that linked elder abuse with care of an elderly relative (36, 37). While the popular image of abuse depicts a dependent victim and an overstressed caregiver, there is growing evidence that neither of these factors properly accounts for cases of abuse. Although researchers do not deny the component of stress, they tend now to look at it in a wider context in which the quality of the overall relationship is a causal factor (30, 34, 38). Some of the studies involving caregiver stress, Alzheimer disease and elder abuse suggest that the nature of the relationship between.
