Assessment of Financial Decision making: an Informant Scale

• NCJ Number: 254192
• Author(s): Rebecca C. Campbell; Peter A. Lichtenberg; Latoya N. Hall; Jeanne A. Teresi; Katja Ocepek-Welikson
• Date Published: 2019
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-MU-CX-0001
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Integrating Improved Assessments of Financial Judgment: Conceptual and Measurement Advances

Annotation

This study examined the psychometric properties of a new informant-report scale of financial decisionmaking abilities in older adults.

Abstract

Older adults with cognitive impairment are a population at great risk for financial exploitation. At-risk older adults often have difficulty reporting on their own financial abilities. Collecting information from trusted others is vital for professionals investigating the financial exploitation of older adults. There are few reliable, valid, and standardized informant-report measures of financial capacity, and none that assess decisional abilities for an ongoing, real-world financial transaction. The current study's sample of 150 participants were recruited to complete the Family and Friends and Interview regarding a known older adult's financial decisionmaking abilities. A factor analysis identified two subscales. The full scale had adequate sensitivity and specificity to detect an informant's current concerns regarding financial exploitation. This study concluded that the Family and Friends Scale is a useful tool for collecting informant observations regarding an older adult's ability to make financial transactions. (publisher abstract modified)