Bullying among senior citizens getting more common

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Updated: April 19, 2011 5:17AM

Social workers, recreation-center officials and others who work with the elderly say bullying among senior citizens is getting more common.

As the retirement population increases and more people enter care homes and retirement centers “it’s a pretty big deal,” said Melanie Starns, an assistant Arizona Department of Economic Security director overseeing the Aging and Adult Services Division.

“The mean girls were there in school and as we get older, they are still around,” she said.

Robin Bonifas, a gerontology expert at Arizona State University, estimates that 10 percent to 20 percent of older people in care homes experience some type of abuse from fellow residents.

Doris Lor, 76, said despite repeated complaints to the director of her homeowners association in Chandler, Ariz, she still can’t get a seat at a card table, gets the cold shoulder at the women’s club and has been chased away from seats at the community pool.

“No matter where you go, even if you pay for the activity, the clique saves all the seats,” Lor said.

Gannett News Service