Exploring Elder Financial Exploitation Victimization: Identifying Unique Risk Profiles and Factors To Enhance Detection, Prevention and Intervention

• NCJ Number: 250756
• Author(s): Jason Burnett; Rui Xia; Robert Suchting; Carmel B. Dyer
• Date Published: March 2017
• Length: 65 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2013-IJ-CX-0050
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Grants and Funding

Annotation

This study identified risk factors for elder financial exploitation from a socioecological perspective (i.e., individual, perpetrator, and community factors), so as to identify the most important factors that distinguish elder financial exploitation (FE) from other forms of abuse.

Abstract

Overall, the findings indicate the importance of differentiating between types of abuse and subtypes of elder FE, so that frontline protective service workers, social service agencies, and researchers can account for variables across the socioecological context when developing surveillance, intervention, and prevention programs. Financially-based variables were found to be the best predictors of FE compared with other forms of elder abuse. Apparent injury was the most important indicator of other forms of elder abuse, even in the presence of FE. "Hybrid FE" (FE in combination with other forms of abuse) may be strongly related to poorer outcomes compared to FE in the absence of other forms of elder abuse ("pure FE"). The most important predictors of hybrid FE were negative effect of others, alcohol and substance use by others, foreclosure, and inadequate medical supplies. Complex interactions among risk factors were evident across the socioecological context. The study methodology involved secondary data analysis of a 5-year statewide aggregated cohort of Texas Adult Protective Services confirmed cases of elder abuse between 2009 and 2014. Data obtained from case files included demographics, reported and confirmed abuse type, victim and perpetrator mental and physical health, substance use, social and financial factors, and community-level data. 4 figures and 1 table