Understanding the mechanisms underlying the effects of loneliness on vulnerability to fraud among older adults

The current study aimed to clarify the relationships among loneliness, susceptibility to persuasion, self-control, and vulnerability to fraud among older adults. Especially, we wanted to investigate whether susceptibility to persuasion mediates the association between loneliness and vulnerability to fraud, and whether self-control moderates the relationship in this process. A moderated mediation model was examined with 252 Chinese older adults (Mage = 67.94, SD = 6.27) who completed questionnaires regarding loneliness, susceptibility to persuasion, self-control, and vulnerability to fraud. The results revealed that loneliness significantly predicted older adults' vulnerability to fraud and susceptibility to persuasion partially mediated this relationship. Moreover, this mediating effect was only significant for older adults with low self-control. These findings enrich our understanding of how loneliness affects older adults' vulnerability to fraud and provide practical guidance for establishing protections against fraud targeting older adults.