While the family has traditionally been the preferable alternative to nursing home care for the aged, recent research indicates that some elderly persons are subjected to neglect or abuse by their families. To investigate this problem, elderly abuse victims in Detroit completed questionnaires and interviews; their families and social service and health agencies were also interviewed. The abuser tended to be the child of the victim in about half the cases with sons and daughters equally responsible. Other abusers included spouses, roomers, landlords, siblings and grandchildren. Victims tended to be from multi-problem families. Agency problems included difficulty in identifying victims and a reluctance to intervene. The findings suggest a need to establish care standards to improve referrals and services. Case studies are included to illustrate the problem of abuse. (Author/JAC)