Empirical research into the incidence, causes, effectiveness of interventions, and consequences of elder abuse; and parallel efforts by community-based professionals to address the problem, are examined. The invisibility of the problem of elder abuse, and assessment protocols developed that focused upon physical and behavioral symptoms of the problem, are discussed. It is hypothesized that some elder abuse can be prevented by systematic assessment of the older person, the potential caregiver, and the family constellation. The author argues that the diversity of research findings and practice experiences preclude definitive causative knowledge; that different types of abuse or neglect have been found to be associated with different personal and situational variables, and that knowledge gained from abuse of other younger family members has not been systematically verified by the study of elder abuse. It is recommended that assessment of potential or actual caregivers of impaired older persons should include investigation of the presence of high-risk indicators and the perception of family members regarding care provision. Characteristics of high-risk elderly persons, caregivers, and family systems are listed. 62 references.