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Debt and depression

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Listed author(s):
  • Bridges, Sarah
  • Disney, Richard

Abstract

We examine the effect of household financial indebtedness on psychological well-being using a large household survey of families with children in Britain. Existing studies that find a link between debt and depression tend to utilise small and highly selective samples of people and only self-reported measures of financial stress, responses to which are likely to correlate with subjective measures of health. From additional household data, we can construct a variety of 'objective' quantitative measures of financial stress in order to validate self-reported measures. We show that, although there is a positive association between subjective measures of financial well-being and psychological well-being, individuals differ in their psychological response to objective household financial situations. We also examine how the potential simultaneity of financial and psychological health might be handled.

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167-6296(10)00018-4
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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Health Economics.

Volume (Year): 29 (2010)
Issue (Month): 3 (May)
Pages: 388-403

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Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:29:y:2010:i:3:p:388-403
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505560

Keywords: Financial indebtedness Psychological well-being Self-reported measures;

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