„KNOWLEDGE OF THE GENERAL POPULATION VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ELDERLY IN THE FAMILY“ Objective: To examine the knowledge of the general population about violence against the elderly in the family according to age, gender, level of education, place of residence and marital status. Study structure: The research was conducted as a preliminary study. Subjects and methods: A questionnaire consisting of 16 questions was used in the study. The respondents were from the general population aged 18 to 60 years. Results: 466 respondents participated in the research. Opinions that older people are most often abused by strangers are mostly incorrect (N = 360, 77.3 %). The opinion that elder abuse occurs only in the lower social strata is also incorrect (N = 419, 89.9 %). 449 respondents or 96.4 % believe that violence against the elderly is a serious social problem. Attitudes that older and younger adults react similarly to abuse are considered incorrect by 314 or 67.4 % of respondents. 335 or 71.9 % of respondents believe that children who have been abused in childhood more often abuse their parents. Feelings of fear or restriction of freedom of movement or communication with third parties is also considered as an act of violence against the elderly by 408 or 87.6 % of respondents. Regarding alcohol consumption, 362 respondents or 77.7 % believe that an elderly caregiver will neglect elderly due to excessive alcohol consumption. Conclusion: Significant differences were found in the responses of the respondents with respect to all groups from this study. Almost all respondents agree that elder abuse occurs in all social strata and that violence against the elderly is a serious social problem.