October 27, 2018

Seniors in Bankruptcy

Older Americans look forward to their golden years. But an increasing number have been forced into bankruptcy, due to unplanned expenses or a lack of retirement savings. Then - a recent study found that boys – not girls – are more likely to report being victims of dating violence.

Episode Segments:

Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy Deborah Thorne, PhD is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Idaho, and Principle Investigator on the nationally-recognized Consumer Bankruptcy Project. Dr. Thorne’s research paper entitled “Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy: Fallout from Life in a Risk Society” found that the rate at which Americans age 65 and older are filing for bankruptcy has more than tripled since 1991. She outlined a number of factors that may contribute to this problem, including rising healthcare expenses and a lack of financial knowledge or discipline to properly save for retirement, since pensions have been replaced by 401k plans.
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Dating Violence Elizabeth Saewyc, PhD, RN, FSAHM, FCAHS, FAAN, Professor of Nursing at the University of British Columbia conducted a recent survey that found that boys—not girls—are more likely to report being victims of dating violence committed by partners who hit, slap or push them. While there has been an overall decline in dating violence, she believes that it may still be socially acceptable for girls to hit or slap boys in dating relationships. She suggested that teenagers who date need more support and education programs to address this problem.
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Dangers of High Fiber Andrew Gewirtz, PhD, Professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University was the co-author of a surprising study that found that adding highly refined fiber to processed foods could have negative effects on human health, including liver cancer. He explained what ingredients consumers need to watch for on processed food labels. He said the simplest solution is to eat fruits and vegetables naturally rich in soluble fiber, rather than processed foods.
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Deborah Thorne Deborah Thorne is associate professor of sociology at University of Idaho and a principle investigator on the nationally-recognized Consumer Bankruptcy Project. For the past two decades, economic inequality generally and debt and consumer bankruptcy specifically, have been at the core of her research agenda. As such, she has authored articles and book chapters on a range of issues associated with debt and consumer bankruptcy such as stigma, reasons for elder debtors’ bankruptcy, medical debt and bankruptcy, effects of severe debt on couples’ relationships, financial health following bankruptcy, social mobility, gender and financial education. As a recognized expert on the subject of consumer bankruptcy, she has been interviewed by numerous media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Salon Magazine, USA Today, National Public Radio, CNN and ABC World News. Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy: Fallout from Life in a Risk Society

Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc’s research focuses on health issues of youth, particularly how stigma, violence, and trauma influence teens’ health, coping and risk behaviours, and what protective factors in relationships and environments can buffer this trauma for young people. For the past 19 years, she has conducted research with many different groups of vulnerable adolescents, including runaway and street-involved youth, sexually abused and sexually exploited teens, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender adolescents, youth in custody, immigrants, home-stay students, and refugees, and indigenous youth in several countries. She draws on a variety of research methods, including population-based surveys, ethnography, photo-elicitation and video diaries, randomized trials and quasi-experimental intervention studies, participatory epidemiology, critical discourse analysis, and methods approaches. Much of her research incorporates gender and sex-based analyses, especially around health issues for boys and young men that are commonly considered “female” issues, such as teen pregnancy involvement, sexual abuse and exploitation, and relationship violence. In addition to sexual health issues, her research focuses on mental health issues such as self-harm and suicide attempts, grief and coping, and substance use/abuse. Dr. Saewyc on Twitter