Understanding and addressing elder abuse in ethnic minorities of majority populations: A theoretical model paper Ashfaque A Talpur, Tony Ryan, Parveen Ali FMDH, University of Sheffield Introduction:  Elder abuse is new yet complex and universal form of social phenomenon in the field of interfamilial violence that has mainly been studied in predominant populations of developed societies.  Studies suggest that ethnic and culture-specific factors influence every part of elder abuse from the definition to societal response.  However, the little-known empirical-based knowledge lacks theoretical framework within which to understand the cultural and ethnic specific explanations in the face of elder abuse.  About 250 million people live as international migrants in the developed countries across the world. This means the source countries require a theoretical framework that guides the ways of understanding the meanings, manifestations and reporting of elder abuse from the perspective of ethnic minorities. Methods: A comprehensive review was undertaken of gerontology, criminal justice, psychology, sociology, nursing, and public health literature published between 1970 to The databases employed in the literature search were PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDiret, SocINDEX, EMBASE, JSTOR, and Wiley InterScience. Results:  No single unifying theory or perspective dominates in explaining elder abuse in ethnic-immigrant minorities’ population. Theories from other domain of literature including criminology (e.g., routine activity theory), sociology (e.g., social exchange/symbolic interaction, power-control theory, social learning theory, situation theory), and family violence (e.g., intergenerational transmission of violence, psychopathology) have been used to elder abuse but were criticized for their usefulness in explaining the phenomenon. Conti. Results (Cont.):  Literature suggests that the explicit use of multiple theoretical perspectives provides rich sources for understanding the diversity and complexities of a social phenomenon. This paper presents a symbolic ecological model (Fig) for understanding the elder abuse in ethnic minority groups of general populations.  This model is based on three essential theoretical principles, symbolic interactionism, life course perspective, and ecological perspective that further need consideration and evaluation. Symbolic interactionism assumptions stress on understanding the cultural and contextual meanings people hold in defining the social actions and interactions. Life course perspective will identify the chronological, generational and historical transition and transmissions in terms of social, cultural and structural contexts.  Finally ecological principles incorporate multiple risk factors emerge through multiple relationships of individuals at different levels of the environment. The combination of these three principles develops the web through which all aspects of elder abuse can be explained. Symbolic Ecological Model Conclusion:  Evidences suggest that ethnic and cultural differences influence on the definition, manifestation, and reporting of elder abuse.  The multi-theory based premise in empirical research may improve our understanding of elder abuse in a wide variety of cultures and populations.