Psychologically Vulnerable Seniors More Vulnerable to Financial Exploitation

Financial exploitation of the elderly is on the rise according to the
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the numbers are
expected to continue to grow as Baby Boomers age. This exploitation,
which includes telemarketing scams, fake home repairs, fake check scams,
identity theft and more, costs approximately $3 billion each year.

Researchers at Wayne State University, in collaboration with Illinois
Institute of Technology, recently published a study advising clinical
gerontologists in the field to be aware that psychologically vulnerable older adults could be more likely victims of financial exploitation.

The study, “Is Psychological Vulnerability Related to the Experience
of Fraud in Older Adults?” published in the recent issue of Clinical
Gerontologist, is the first study to include prospective predictors of
reported financial fraud victimization of older adults, and is the first
to review financial exploitation of any kind with the same population
from a psychological-vulnerability perspective.

“Said Peter Lichtenberg, Ph.D., director of WSU’s Institute of Gerontology
and lead author of the paper – “Those in the clinical study showed
characteristics of extreme depression symptoms and perceived low
social-status fulfillment, thus showing they were more vulnerable to the
experience of theft of scams. “

The study included 4,440 participants. Those participants that were
the most psychologically vulnerable with the highest levels of
depression and lowest levels of social-needs fulfillment, experienced
higher levels of fraud compared to those that were not vulnerable
psychologically.

“One of the most significant findings of our study was with the most
psychologically vulnerable population,” said Lichtenberg. “The
combination of high depression and low social-status fulfillment was
associated with a 226 percent increase in fraud prevalence in this
population. This supports our theory that depressive symptoms and lack
of social-needs fulfillment have an effect on fraud prediction, and
serves as a reminder to clinical gerontologists how psychological
vulnerability can affect older adults’ lives in a variety of ways.

The research team recommends that this population be assessed for the
potential of financial exploitation, and this assessment should be a
regular part of clinicians’ toolkits when working with highly vulnerable
individuals.

The implications for caregivers are clear. How is your loved one’s state of mind? Could they be exploited? What steps will you take to make sure they are not?