While researching efforts on fraud prevention against the elderly, I ran across two new studies, published just this year, indicating that some seemingly healthy seniors have significantly impaired decision making skills.
The first such study, by Natalie Denburg of the University of Iowa addresses this question:
"We often read or hear stories about older adults being conned out of their life savings, but are older individuals really more susceptible to fraud than younger adults? And, if so, how exactly does aging affect judgment and decision-making abilities?"
A Denburg study
"published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, shows that 35 to 40 percent of a test group of 80 healthy older adults with no apparent neurological deficits have poor decision-making abilities.... The findings also suggest that these individuals may experience disproportionate aging of a brain region critical for decision-making."
The study went on to examine susceptibility to deceptive advertising amongst these same individuals and found significant vulnerability.
So now we're seeing scientific studies that back up what happened to Lola. Judgment can vanish long before other symptoms emerge. I'm sure the scammers have known this all along. But, by the time the family catches on, it can be too late.
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2 comments:
Hmmmm, wish I had know about this when my Mother was alive, I know I would have handled things differently and she might be alive today.
I read all of your posts, led by a link from the NY Times. What a sad story. When I was first married, my husband's grandmother was also being victimized by scam artists, but he and his mother were reluctant to screen her mail or phone calls. Things had not advanced that far, only a few hundred dollars a year in 900 number calls. I put an end to it.
I think the denial also came up years later when I realized that she wasn't managing her medications properly. Sometimes close family members are in denial...I'm glad I spoke up and put things right.
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