Brancale Julie N, Blomberg Thomas G, Beaver Kevin M
College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
J Aging Soc Policy. 2024 Nov 4:1-28. doi: 10.1080/08959420.2024.2422670.
Financial exploitation of older adults is a rapidly growing social problem, and research in this area has largely focused on individual-level risk factors with the role of the community not considered. Given the rapid expansion of retirement communities across the United States, these areas may be emerging as hotspots for financial exploitation. This study presented officially reported administrative trend data on reported cases of financial exploitation and analyzed focus group and interview data collected from 80 residents of a large retirement community to assess the self-reported role of the community on older adults' financial exploitation experiences and perceptions of risk. Study participants overwhelmingly expressed that they were targeted for financial exploitation immediately and repeatedly after moving into the retirement community and much more frequently than they had experienced before moving. Participants believed they were seen as vulnerable targets and adequate protection measures were not implemented by the retirement community's management. Retirement community managers and local criminal justice officials should recognize that residents of retirement communities may be at risk for financial exploitation and implement prevention and response strategies.
对老年人的金融剥削是一个迅速发展的社会问题，该领域的研究主要集中在个体层面的风险因素，而未考虑社区的作用。鉴于美国退休社区的迅速扩张，这些地区可能正成为金融剥削的热点地区。本研究展示了关于金融剥削报告案件的官方报告行政趋势数据，并分析了从一个大型退休社区的80名居民收集的焦点小组和访谈数据，以评估社区在老年人金融剥削经历和风险认知方面自我报告的作用。研究参与者压倒性地表示，他们在搬进退休社区后立即且反复成为金融剥削的目标，且比搬入前经历的频率高得多。参与者认为他们被视为易受攻击的目标，而退休社区管理层未实施足够的保护措施。退休社区管理人员和当地刑事司法官员应认识到退休社区居民可能面临金融剥削风险，并实施预防和应对策略。
