title: The (interconnected) reasons elder Americans file consumer bankruptcy.
abstract: Since the early 1990s, the age distribution of the bankruptcy population has shifted. Specifically, the age distribution curve has flattened, due in large part to an increase in the number of elder Americans (65 and older) who are filing bankruptcy. To date, the reasons for elder bankruptcies have not been studied. Quantitative and qualitative data from 381 elder bankruptcy respondents who participated in the 2007 Consumer Bankruptcy Project suggest that overwhelming interest and fees on credit cards, illnesses and injuries, income problems, aggressive debt collectors, and housing problems are the leading reasons that elder debtors file bankruptcy. Further, the vast majority of elder bankruptcies result not from a single cause, but rather from multiple interconnected causes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA. thorned@ohio.edu
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thorne
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016361:Bankruptcy / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D010350:Patient Credit and Collection; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States