Elder abuse vulnerability and risk factors: is financial abuse different from other subtypes?

Elder abuse (EA) affects one in six older adults, and financial EA, a common subtype, severely impacts victims and society. Understanding victim vulnerability and perpetrator risk factors is essential to EA prevention and management. The limited existing evidence about these factors in relation to EA types suggests that financial EA is different. In a cross-sectional quantitative analysis of secondary data (N = 1,238), we investigated EA vulnerability and risk factors, and victim–perpetrator family relationship, with respect to different EA types (financial only, financial co-occurring with other types, and nonfinancial abuse). Financial abuse-only cases had the lowest prevalence of vulnerability and risk factors. Most of these factors, and a familial relationship, were significantly more common in cases involving other EA types. Findings indicate that financial abuse, occurring in isolation, is distinct from other EA types. Risk assessment and future research should consider financial abuse separately to other EA forms.