This paper critically reflects on the Scottish Adult Support and Protection (ASP) study, a research project conducted at a time when oadult protection’ was understood in Scottish policies to be the professional response to oabuse’. During the course of analysing the ASP study data, it became apparent that practitioners themselves did not necessarily construct oabuse’ and oadult protection’ concerns as coterminous categories. Some examples are recounted to illustrate the potentially more partial, less linear relationship between these categories in practice than in policy constructions. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research into professionals constructions of oadult protection’ concerns. It explains why such research would have continuing, if not greater, relevance in the context of recent Scottish policy moves to reconceptualise adult protection as a response not to oabuse’, but to oharm’.

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