Do Older Black Women Who Were Financially Exploited Share Specific Psychological, Cognitive, Social and Physical Health Characteristics? The Role of Financial Exploitation Vulnerability

Population-based self-report studies find older Blacks are at increased risk of financial exploitation victimization. We compared several psychological, cognitive, social, and physical health measures between Black women who were confirmed victims of financial exploitation (Successful Aging through Financial Empowerment (SAFE) participants) and a group of older Black women in the same community with no reported history of exploitation. SAFE participants were significantly older, less educated, and in poorer health than the community comparison participants. They also reported less social support, more depressive and anxiety symptoms, and a higher financial exploitation vulnerability than did the community comparison participants. In a logistic regression analysis, results indicated that only age, education, and financial exploitation vulnerability were associated with the participation of individuals in the SAFE financial exploitation group. The results underscore the multiple ways in which older Black women victims of financial exploitation are vulnerable compared to their community peers who were not exploited.