Economic Abuse & Coerced Debt
A "Paper to Practice" Series
Economic abuse involves behaviors that control an individual’s ability to acquire, use, and maintain economic resources, thereby threatening their economic well-being. In this season, we will learn what economic abuse entails and about coerced debt, a specific type of economic abuse.
Dr. Adrienne Adams discusses how to identify when someone is experiencing economic abuse and recommendations for how advocates can best serve survivors facing this type of abuse.
Episode 1:
Economic Abuse
Dr. Adrienne Adams discusses what economic abuse is, how to identify when someone is experiencing economic abuse, and how to have the difficult conversation around money with the people you are serving.
Episode 2:
Coerced Debt
Dr. Adrienne Adams talks about a specific type of economic abuse: coerced debt. Learn about the types of transactions encompassed in coerced debt, and how to identify when someone is experiencing it.
Series Materials
“This toolkit is designed to support you to identify whether someone you are working with is experiencing this form of abuse.”
“Six tips for domestic violence victims and survivors who are seeking to secure their financial future”
“Domestic violence is a pattern of coercive, controlling behavior that can include physical, emotional/psychological, sexual, and/or financial abuse. Financial abuse is a common tactic used by people who choose to abuse through control and isolation of their partner, and it can have far-reaching and devastating consequences.”
“Like physical abuse, financial abuse often begins subtly and progresses over time. Financial abuse occurs in nearly all cases of domestic violence, often trapping the victim in the relationship.”
“There are many different types of abuse that someone can experience. Many people can understand physical abuse due to the marks or injuries that are left. However, other types of abuse are harder to see but can be equally devastating. Financial abuse is one such type.”
Social Isolation and the Risk of Investment Fraud
“Research has found that people are more likely to be victimized if they are isolated and do not have anyone to discuss an investment proposal with. As a result, those who engaged scammers and lost money are less likely to be married and more likely to be widowed or divorced.”
This webpage has a check-able list to help those who may have experienced identity theft or fraud know what to do immediately, walks them through next steps, includes information for specific types of account issues (e.g. utility accounts, student loans, government benefits, etc.), and information for specific identity theft types (e.g. tax, child, and medical).
The following research articles were referenced in the series:
Adams, A. E., & Beeble, M. L. (2018, April 26). Intimate Partner Violence and Psychological Well-Being: Examining the Effect of Economic Abuse on Women’s Quality of Life. Psychology of Violence. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/vio0000174
Adams, A. E., Beeble, M. L., Biswas, A., Flynn, R. L., & Vollinger, L. (2023). An Exploratory Study of Financial Health as an Antecedent of Economic Abuse Among Women Seeking Help for Intimate Partner Violence. Violence Against Women, 30(15-16), 3825-3853. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012231170867
Adams, A. E., Greeson, M. R., Littwin, A. K., & Javorka, M. (2020). The Revised Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA2): Development and initial psychometric testing of an updated measure of economic abuse in intimate relationships. Psychology of Violence, 10(3), 268–278. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000244
Adams, A. E., Littwin, A. K., & Javorka, M. (2019). The Frequency, Nature, and Effects of Coerced Debt Among a National Sample of Women Seeking Help for Intimate Partner Violence. Violence Against Women, 26(11), 1324-1342. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219841445 (Original work published 2020)
Adams, A. E., Littwin, A., Kennedy, A. C., & Beeble, M. L. (2026). Describing Coerced Debt Created in Abusive Marriages. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605251398461
Identity Theft, Fraud and Scams Webinar
“Learn about what to be on guard against, how to protect yourself, and steps to take if – despite your best efforts – you experience this.”
Elder Financial Exploitation and the Criminal Justice System
“Financial exploitation, as well as other forms of abuse, increases the risk of premature death in older adults by 300%. Across the country, reports of elder financial exploitation are increasing dramatically.”
Meet the Expert
Dr. Adrienne Adams is a Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Program Evaluation M.A. & Certificate Programs. She holds a Ph.D. in community psychology. Her research focuses on economic abuse and the economic effects of intimate partner abuse for survivors. Dr. Adams developed and validated the first measure of economic abuse, the Scale of Economic Abuse (SEA), and an updated version of the instrument, the SEA-2. Currently, Dr. Adams is studying the problem of coerced debt, a form of economic abuse that occurs when abusive partners create debt in their partners’ names via fraud, coercion, or manipulation.