Hancock David W, Czaja Sara, Beach Scott
Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian, New York, NY, USA.
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Sage Open Aging. 2025 Jan-Dec;11. doi: 10.1177/30495334251327509. Epub 2025 Apr 3.
Financial exploitation (FE) is a significant concern for older adults, with annual prevalence rates estimated between 5% and 17%. This study investigates how financial skills, specifically objective numeracy and financial knowledge, relate to scam susceptibility and FE in 672 adults aged 60 and older. Structural equation modeling revealed that higher financial knowledge and numeracy scores were significantly associated with reduced scam susceptibility, which, in turn, was linked to a lower likelihood of experiencing FE. Notably, gender, age, race, education, and income had differential impacts on financial skills and scam susceptibility. Males and minority groups, particularly African American and Hispanic participants, showed higher scam susceptibility, partially mediated by lower numeracy and financial knowledge. Education emerged as a critical protective factor, both directly and through its positive influence on financial skills. These findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions to bolster financial skills among older adults, especially vulnerable groups, to reduce FE risk. The study highlights the need for tailored educational resources and support programs to protect older adults, with particular attention to enhancing numeracy and financial knowledge across diverse demographic groups.
金融剥削（FE）是老年人面临的一个重大问题，据估计其年发生率在5%至17%之间。本研究调查了672名60岁及以上成年人的金融技能，特别是客观计算能力和金融知识，与诈骗易感性和金融剥削之间的关系。结构方程模型显示，较高的金融知识和计算能力得分与较低的诈骗易感性显著相关，而诈骗易感性又与经历金融剥削的较低可能性相关。值得注意的是，性别、年龄、种族、教育程度和收入对金融技能和诈骗易感性有不同的影响。男性和少数群体，特别是非裔美国人和西班牙裔参与者，表现出较高的诈骗易感性，部分原因是计算能力和金融知识较低。教育成为一个关键的保护因素，既直接发挥作用，又通过其对金融技能的积极影响发挥作用。这些发现强调了有针对性的干预措施对于增强老年人，特别是弱势群体的金融技能以降低金融剥削风险的重要性。该研究强调需要有针对性的教育资源和支持项目来保护老年人，尤其要注重提高不同人口群体的计算能力和金融知识。
