self-neglect
Sign in to savethumb|right|A house that has accumulated with trash due to neglect Self-neglect is a behavioral condition in which an individual neglects to attend to their basic needs, such as personal hygiene, appropriate clothing, feeding, or tending appropriately to any medical conditions they have. More generally, any lack of self-care in terms of personal health, hygiene and living conditions can be referred to as self-neglect. Extreme self-neglect can be known as Diogenes syndrome.
Research
4,180 papers- Successful Aging and Self-Neglect Among Community-Dwelling Older People.Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.) · 2025
- Self-Neglect in Older Populations: A Description and Analysis of Current Approaches.Journal of aging & social policy · 2020
- Self-Neglect: Ethical Considerations.Annual review of nursing research · 2016
- Self-neglect in older adults: an evolutionary concept analysis.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025
- Defiance or Self-Neglect?Nursing science quarterly · 2023
via PubMed
~6 min read
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Classification
- Presentation
- Complication
- Causes
- Risk factors
- Diagnosis
- Definition
- Use in assessment of needs
- Treatments
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|right|A house that has accumulated with trash due to neglect Self-neglect is a behavioral condition in which an individual neglects to attend to their basic needs, such as personal hygiene, appropriate clothing, feeding, or tending appropriately to any medical conditions they have. More generally, any lack of self-care in terms of personal health, hygiene and living conditions can be referred to as self-neglect. Extreme self-neglect can be known as Diogenes syndrome.
==Classification== There are two types of self-neglect: intentional (active), and non-intentional (passive). Intentional self-neglect occurs when a person makes a conscious choice to engage in self-neglect. Non-intentional self-neglect occurs as a result of health-related conditions that contribute to the risk of developing self-neglect. Different societies and cultures can have different beliefs regarding acceptable living standards, making self-neglect a serious and complex problem requiring clinical, social, and ethical decisions in its management and treatment.