Project Director
Walker, Ruth
Department Examiner
Ross, David
Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
A report by the Center for Victim Research shows that younger adults are more often victims of general and identity fraud (Irvin-Erickson & Ricks, 2019, p. 9); however, research conducted on financial exploitation focuses heavily on older adults. However, a recent study by Gunderson and colleagues (2021) found that older and younger adults are highly susceptible to financial exploitation. The purpose of the current study is to determine if perceptions of vulnerability to financial exploitation vary by the age of the victim. A sample of undergraduate participants will be recruited from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga through an online recruitment system called SONA. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four vignettes where gender and age have been manipulated and dichotomized: (1) 67-year-old older man victim, (2) 67-year-old older woman victim, (3) 20-year-old young man victim, and (4) 20-year-old young woman victim. Participants will be asked to respond to questions regarding the following: (1) perceptions of vulnerability and susceptibility, (2) perceptions of blame and accountability, and (3) perceptions of empathy and support. The hypothesis is that age and gender will interact such that older women will be perceived as more vulnerable and deserving of empathy and support. The results of this study will begin to lay the groundwork needed to understand how to decrease stigma to increase reporting, develop and market educational training to reduce financial exploitation that is targeted to adults across the lifespan, and improve training for legal and social service professionals.
Acknowledgments
The completion of this study could not have been possible without the expertise and guidance of Dr. Ruth Walker, my exceptionally skilled and accomplished Thesis Director. I express my sincere gratitude for your invaluable guidance and support over the years. I would also like to thank Dr. David Ross for serving on my Thesis Committee. Your feedback was crucial to my subsequent research, and it was a pleasure to receive counsel from you.
IRB Number
#22-113
Degree
B. A.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
Date
5-2024
Subject
Fraud--United States--Prevention--Finance, Personal; Older people--Abuse of--United States
Discipline
Social Psychology
Document Type
Theses
Extent
31 leaves
DCMI Type
Text
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Date Available
12-1-2025
Recommended Citation
Hillman, Kathleen, "Effects of age and gender on perceptions on victims of financial exploitation" (2024). Honors Theses.
https://scholar.utc.edu/honors-theses/440
Department
Dept. of Psychology