NCJ Number
178102
Journal
Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect Volume: 10 Issue: 3/4 Dated: 1999 Pages: 39-62
Date Published
1999
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Data from case files of an adult protective services program in Erie County, New York, were analyzed to identify risk factors associated with financial exploitation of and mismanagement by elders.
Abstract
Case files included those in which Protective Services for Older Adults (PSA) intervened between 1989 and 1996. Variables in comparing intervention and nonintervention groups included age, gender, report/referral source, previous PSA intervention, housing problems, and living arrangements. Variables in comparing financial exploitation-mismanagement and mismanagement-only groups also included nature of exploitation and/or mismanagement, other forms of co-occurring abuse or neglect, social network, whether the elder required assistance with daily living activities, cognitive ability, and perpetrator's relationship to the elder. It was found that elders who were financially exploited were primarily in their late 70s and tended to be cognitively impaired. Owner-occupant elders were especially vulnerable to exploitation, and financial mismanagement and exploitation often occurred together. About 60 percent of perpetrators were relatives of elderly victims, mostly their adult children, and the rest of perpetrators were not related to elderly victims. Implications of the findings for intervention include case management for frail, cognitively impaired elders; preventive education programs; and ongoing collaboration among adult protective services, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies. 27 references and 6 tables