Title

Risk Factors Within Families Associated With Elder Financial Exploitation by Relatives With Powers of Attorney

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2018

Abstract

This phenomenological study focused on understanding possible risk factors within families that contribute to later Elder Financial Exploitation (EFE) by a relative who is granted power of attorney (POA). The data were primarily collected through interviews by three co-investigators on the research team, using an adaptation of Seidman’s (1998) phenomenological approach. Using a peer-debriefing process, researchers’ interpretations of interview transcripts were informed by field notes and discussions of the data until consensus was achieved on coding of particular excerpts salient to understanding family members’ experiences and grouping of codes into categories and then themes. Preliminary results indicate that elders seemed to be more vulnerable because of problematic family relationships, including enabling behaviors prior to EFE, and unresolved conflict, trust issues, and unhealthy power dynamics among family members, such as coercion, acquiescence, and power struggles.

Publication Title

Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences

Volume

110

Issue

1

First Page

19

Last Page

27

DOI of Published Version

10.14307/JFCS110.1.19

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