International Journal of Human Ecology

The Korean Home Economics Association (대한가정학회)
권호 표지

A Preliminary Study of Financial Management Assistance Use by the Elderly in the U.S.

  • Kim Eun-Jin (Dept. of Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University) ;
  • Geistfeld Loren V. (Dept. of Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University)
  • Published : 2005.06.01
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Due to increasing life expectancy, Americans live nearly 20 years after retirement. During this period, elderly persons have to stretch finances to manage the level of living without earnings. However, decision making ability decreases with age. One coping strategy for this problem would be seeking help from others. We examine factors affecting elderly persons' assistance use with respect to financial management using the 2000 Health and Retirement Study (N=3,823). It was found that age, education, health status, and ethnicity significantly affect elderly persons' financial management assistance use. The older-olds, those with lower educational attainment and poorer health status were more likely to use financial management assistance. However, Hispanic elderly were less likely to use financial management assistance.

Keywords

References

  1. AARP. (1999). Consumer behavior, experiences, and attitudes: A comparison by age groups. Washington DC: Author
  2. AARP. (2000). Wealth distribution in 1998 findings from the survey of consumer finances. Retrieved on January 19,2003, from http:// research.aarp.orgl/econ/dd44_wealth.html
  3. Andersen, R. M. (1968). A behavioral model of families' use of health services. Illinois: Center for Health Administration Studies
  4. Andersen, R. M. (1995). Revisiting the behavioral model and access to medical care: Does it matter? Journal of Health and Social Behavior 36(March), 1-10 https://doi.org/10.2307/2137284
  5. Banerjee, T., & Banerjee, G. (1995). Determinants of help-seeking behavior in classes of epilepsy attending a teaching hospital in India: An indigenous explanatory model. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 41(3), 217-230 https://doi.org/10.1177/002076409504100306
  6. Bauer, J. W., & Sturn, M. S. (1994). Money management needs and help of elderly living in the community. Financial Counseling and Planning, 5, 147-159
  7. Bernheim, D. B., & Scholz, K. J. (1993). Do Americans save too little? Business Review, 3-20
  8. Bernheim, D. B. (1998). Financial illiteracy, education, and retirement saving. Pension Research Council Publication Series, 38-68. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
  9. Brody, E. M. (1981). Women in the middle and family help to older people. The Gerontologist, 21(4), 470-480
  10. Broll, L., Gross, A., & Piliavin, I. (1974). Effects of offered and requested help on help seeking and reactions to being helped. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 4, 244-258 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb02644.x
  11. Cepeda-Benito, A., & Short, P. (1998). Self-concealment, avoidance of psychological services, and perceived likelihood of seeking professional help. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 58-64 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.45.1.58
  12. Chappell, N. (1990). Aging and social care. In R.H. Binstock & L.K. George (Eds.), Aging and the social sciences (pp.440-451). New York: Academic Press, Inc
  13. Cole, C. A., & Gaeth, G. J. (1990). Cognitive and Age-Related Differences in the Ability to Use Nutritional Information in a Complex Environment. Journal of Marketing Research, 27, 175-184 https://doi.org/10.2307/3172844
  14. Cook, F. L., & Kramek, L. M. (1986). Measuring economic hardship among elder Americans. The Gerontologist, 26(1),38-47 https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/26.1.38
  15. DeVaney, S. A. (1994). The usefulness of financial ratios as predictors of household insolvency: Two perspectives. Financial Counseling and Planning, 5, 5-21
  16. Elmerick, S. A., Montalto, C. P., & Fox, J. (2002). Use of financial planners by U.S. households. Financial Services Review, 11 (3),217-232
  17. Esters, I. G., Cooker, P. G., & Ittenbach, R. F. (1998). Effects of a unit of instruction in mental health on rural adolescents' conceptions of mental illness and attitudes about seeking help. Adolescence, 33, 469-476
  18. Finucane, M. L., Slovic, P., Hibbard, J. H., Peters, E., Mertz, C. K., & Macgregor, D. G. (2002). Aging and decision-making competence: an analysis of comprehension and consistency skills in older versus younger adults considering health-plan options. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 15, 141-164 https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.407
  19. Gaeth, G. J., & Heath, T. B. (1987). The Cognitive Processing of Misleading Advertising in Young and Old Adults: Assessment and Training. Journal of Consumer Research, 14, 43-54 https://doi.org/10.1086/209091
  20. Gilbert, F. W., & Tudor, R. K. (1994). The decision-making unit in the choice of a long-term health. Journal of Applied Business Research, 10(2), 63-74
  21. Grable, J. E., & Joo, S. (1999). Financial help-seeking behavior: Theory and Implications. Financial Counseling and Planning, 10(1), 13-23
  22. Grable, J. E., & Joo, S. (2001). A further examination of financial help-seeking behavior. Financial Counseling and Planning, 12(1), 55-65
  23. Hibbard, J. H., Slovic, P., Peters, E., & Finucane, M. (2000). Older consumers' skill in using comparative data to inform health plan choice: A preliminary assessment. Washington DC:AARP
  24. Jacoby, Jennings, & Hay, (1996). Cognitive age and everyday life. in cognitive aging. (Eds.). Park, D., & Schwarz, N. Philadelphia; Psychology Press
  25. Kaplan, H. I., & Sadock, B. J. (1991). Synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences, clinical psychiatry. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins
  26. Karabenick, S. A. (1998). Strategic help seeking: Implications for learning and teaching. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers
  27. King, C. (1997). Most Americans don't seek financial advice. National Underwriter, 101, 3
  28. Krause, N. (1996). Stress, gender, cognitive impairment, and outpatient physician use in later life. Journal of Gerontology, 51B(I), 15-23 https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/51B.1.P15
  29. Kulka, R. A., Veroff, J., & Douvan, E. (1979, March). Social class and the use of professional help for personal problems: 1957 and 1976. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 20, 2-17 https://doi.org/10.2307/2136474
  30. Lee, F. (1985). Kinship and social support of the elderly: The case of the United States. Aging and Society, 5, 19-38 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X00011272
  31. Lee, F. (1997). When the going gets tough, do the tough ask for help? Help-seeking and power motivation in organizations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 72, 336-363 https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.1997.2746
  32. Lynch, E. W., & Hanson, M. J. (1992). Developing cross-cultural competence: A guide for working with young children and their families. Baltimore: P.H. Brookes Publication
  33. MacNeil, B. (1990). Educational needs for multicultural hearing-impaired students in the public school system. American Annals of the Deaf, 135, 75-82 https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2012.1151
  34. Mathur, A., & Moschis, G. P. (1999). Exploring the intergenerational caregiver market: A study of family care providers for the elderly. Journal of Marketing: Theory and Practice, 76-86
  35. Miller, S. A., & Montalto, C. P. (2001). Who uses fmancial planners? Evidence from the1998 Survey of Consumer Finances. Consumer Interests Annual, 47, 1-9
  36. Moschis, G. P. (1994). Consumer Behavior in Later Life: Multidisciplinary Contributions and Implications for Research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 22(3), 195-204 https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070394223001
  37. National Vital Statistics (2002). Retrieved on June 5, 2003, from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ products/pubs/pubd/nvsr/nvsr.htm
  38. Noller, P., Feeney, J. A., & Peterson, C. (2001). Personal relationships across the lifespan. Psychology Press: PA
  39. Nuttbrock, L. (1986). The management of illness among physically impaired older people: An interactionist interpretation. Social Psychology Quarterly, 49(2), 180-191 https://doi.org/10.2307/2786728
  40. Park, D. C., & Gutchess, A. H. (1999). Cognitive aging and everyday life. In D. C. Park & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Cognitive aging (pp.217-232). Philadelphia: Psychology Press
  41. Retirement Confidence Survey (2004). The 2004 retirement corifidence survey: Summary of findings. EBRl& ASEC
  42. Ryan, A. M., & Pintrich, P. R. (1997). Should I ask for help? The role of motivation and attitudes in adolescents' help seeking. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(2), 329-342 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.89.2.329
  43. Sanfey, A. G., & Hastie, R. (2000). Judgment and decision making across the adult life span: A tutorial review of psychological research. In D. C. Park & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Cognitive aging (pp.253-273). Philadelphia: Psychology Press
  44. Schaie, K. W., & Willis, S. L.(2000). A stage theory model of adult cognitive development revisited (pp.175-194). in the many dimensions of aging (Eds.). Rubinstein, R. L., Moss, M., & Kleban, M. H. 2000. New York: Springer Publishing Company
  45. Shapiro, E. G. (1978). Help seeking effects of visibility of task performance and help seeking. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 8, 163-173 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1978.tb00774.x
  46. Shapiro, E. G. (1980). Is seeking help from a friend like seeking help from a stranger? Social Psychology Quarterly, 43(2), 259-263 https://doi.org/10.2307/3033629
  47. Warneke, C. A. (2000). Characteristics of help-seekers and non-help seekers among developmental math students. Unpublished dissertation: The University of Akron
  48. Zwahr, M. D., & Park, D. C. (1999). Judgment about estrogen replacement therapy: The role of age, cognitive abilities, and beliefs. Psychology & Aging, 14(2), 179-192 https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.14.2.179