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Understanding financial elder abuse in families: the potential of routine activities theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2007

DEBORAH SETTERLUND ,
CHERYL TILSE ,
JILL WILSON ,
ANNE-LOUISE MCCAWLEY  and
LINDA ROSENMAN
DEBORAH SETTERLUND
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia.
CHERYL TILSE*
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia.
JILL WILSON
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia.
ANNE-LOUISE MCCAWLEY
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia.
LINDA ROSENMAN
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia.
*
Address for correspondence: Cheryl Tilse, School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia. Email: c.tilse@uq.edu.au
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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to stimulate theoretical thought about financial elder abuse within families, by exploring the potential of ‘routine activities theory’ for raising our understanding of, and response to, its occurrences. Research into financial elder abuse, defined as the illegal or improper use of a person's finances or property by another person, has tended to emphasise the abusive event and the associated risk factors. ‘Routine activities theory’, in contrast, directs attention more to developing prevention strategies that focus on everyday activities and hence seek to reduce the opportunities for illegal activity. The authors' research programme on the broad topic of money management and older people in Australia has conceptualised financial elder abuse as one possible outcome of the family management of older people's assets. This paper reports an application of routine activities theory to in-depth data of the asset-management practices and experiences of 81 family members who were assisting 86 older people. The paper concludes that the theory contributes to our understanding of how and why financial abuse occurs in families. It makes clear the distorting influence of a sense of entitlement and the preventive importance of both capable guardians, to oversee family-asset management and be alert to mismanagement, and the need for improved financial awareness, skills and probity in the community in connection with this common task of assisting older people to manage their financial assets.

Keywords

financial elder abusefamily careasset managementroutine activities theory
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , July 2007 , pp. 599 - 614
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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