Financial Victimization of Adults With Severe Mental Illness

Abstract

Objective People with severe mental illness are vulnerable to having other people directly take or misappropriate their disability payments. This study investigated the prevalence of different types of financial victimization and the client characteristics associated with being financially victimized. Methods Adults (N=122) receiving inpatient or intensive outpatient psychiatric treatment who received Social Security disability payments completed assessments about money management and victimization. A path model was used to estimate the association of victimization with participant characteristics. Results Seventy percent of participants experienced at least one type of financial victimization in the preceding 28 days; 35% ran out of money because of victimization. Victimization was significantly associated with being younger, having had more psychiatric hospitalizations, having more recent alcohol use, and, most robustly, having problems managing money (β=.52, p<.01). Conclusions Financial victimization of disability recipients in acute care settings is common and more likely among people with recent substance use and difficulty managing their funds.

Viktimisierung im Erwachsenenalter von Personen mit Psychiatrieerfahrung

“…Internationale Befunde zeigen, dass Personen mit Psychiatrieerfahrung (PmP) in hohem Ausmaß von Gewalt betroffen sind, die von Mobbing und verbalen Attacken [1 -3] und Betrug [4] über physische und psychische Gewalt bis hin zu Tötungsdelikten [5,6] reicht. Neben negativen Folgen für die körperliche Gesundheit der Betroffenen können Viktimisierungserfahrungen auch die Schwere und den Verlauf psychischer Erkrankungen beeinflussen [7 -10] und zu Selbststigmatisierung führen [11].…”

Ambiguity in Determining Financial Capability of SSI and SSDI Beneficiaries With Psychiatric Disabilities

“…One reason capability is difficult to judge is that managing a limited income, with or without a disabling illness, is very difficult. The challenges disabled people face—poverty, substance use (21), gambling (22), crime, financial dysfunction, psychiatric symptomatology (23) and financial predation (6) —contribute to their financial difficulties. Most beneficiaries and, in fact, most people do not spend all of their funds on basic needs.…”

“…Such misspending is particularly common among individuals with mental illnesses that impair cognitive abilities, judgment, and the ability to resist financial exploitation (3–7). Independent financial management may be further compromised when individuals with mental illness have concurrent substance use disorders (5, 6, 8). …”

Development of the Clinician Assessment of Financial Incapability (CAFI)

“…Beneficiaries assigned a payee lose an important part of their autonomy, and may feel coerced by their payees (Appelbaum & Redlich, 2006; Elbogen et al, 2007; Rosen et al, 2005), leading to conflicts that may threaten clinical or personal relationships (Angell, 2007; Elbogen et al, 2007, 2008). On the other hand, misuse of funds can interfere with beneficiaries' ability to maintain housing and other basic needs (e.g., Claycomb et al, 2013; Rosen et al, 2002), and in extreme cases has resulted in malnutrition, homelessness, and premature death (Frank & Degan, 1997). …”