IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v73y2011i12p1725-1732.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Beyond debt. A moderator analysis of the relationship between perceived financial strain and mental health

Author

Listed:
  • Selenko, Eva
  • Batinic, Bernad

Abstract

Heavy debt not only has economic consequences, but has also been related to severe psychological and physical distress. The present study investigates the relationship between perceived financial strain and mental health, and individual-level variables that moderate this relationship. Specifically it was expected that employment, access to the latent benefits of work, and self-efficacy would buffer the relationship between perceived financial strain and mental health. In a 2009 study conducted in Austria, among 106 people on the verge of bankruptcy, perceived financial strain appeared as the strongest predictor of distress. This effect was moderated by two out of five latent benefits of work and self-efficacy, but employment status failed to have a significant effect. The findings show the importance of subjective economic stress for the prediction of mental health among people in serious financial strain and indicate significant moderators of this relationship.

Suggested Citation

  • Selenko, Eva & Batinic, Bernad, 2011. "Beyond debt. A moderator analysis of the relationship between perceived financial strain and mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(12), pages 1725-1732.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:73:y:2011:i:12:p:1725-1732
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611005934
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.09.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brown, Sarah & Taylor, Karl & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 2005. "Debt and distress: Evaluating the psychological cost of credit," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 642-663, October.
    2. Jahoda,Marie, 1982. "Employment and Unemployment," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521285865, June.
    3. Reading, Richard & Reynolds, Shirley, 2001. "Debt, social disadvantage and maternal depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 441-453, August.
    4. Drentea, Patricia & Lavrakas, Paul J., 2000. "Over the limit: the association among health, race and debt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 517-529, February.
    5. Livingstone, Sonia M. & Lunt, Peter K., 1992. "Predicting personal debt and debt repayment: Psychological, social and economic determinants," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 111-134, March.
    6. Hoelzl, Erik & Pollai, Maria & Kamleitner, Bernadette, 2009. "Experience, prediction and recollection of loan burden," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 446-454, June.
    7. Frese, Michael & Mohr, Gisela, 1987. "Prolonged unemployment and depression in older workers: A longitudinal study of intervening variables," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 173-178, January.
    8. DeVaney, Sharon A. & Lytton, Ruth H., 1995. "Household insolvency: A review of household debt repayment, delinquency, and bankruptcy," Financial Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 137-156.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bernadette Kamleitner & Bianca Hornung & Erich Kirchler, 2010. "Over-indebtedness and the interplay of factual and mental money management: An interview study," Working Papers 34, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    2. Cesar Leandro, Julio & Botelho, Delane, 2022. "Consumer over-indebtedness: A review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 535-551.
    3. Sweet, Elizabeth & Nandi, Arijit & Adam, Emma K. & McDade, Thomas W., 2013. "The high price of debt: Household financial debt and its impact on mental and physical health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 94-100.
    4. Yunchao Cai & Selamah Abdullah Yusof & Ruzita Bt Mohd Amin & Mohd Nahar Mohd Arshad, 2021. "The Multi-dimensional Effect of Household Debt on Urban Individual Well-Being in Klang Valley Malaysia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 23-44, November.
    5. Ibrahim, Fatma & McHugh, Neil & Biosca, Olga & Baker, Rachel & Laxton, Tim & Donaldson, Cam, 2021. "Microcredit as a public health initiative? Exploring mechanisms and pathways to health and wellbeing," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    6. Lawrence M. Berger & Jason N. Houle, 2019. "Rising Household Debt and Children’s Socioemotional Well-being Trajectories," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1273-1301, August.
    7. Shuying Shen & Abdoul G. Sam & Eugene Jones, 2014. "Credit Card Indebtedness and Psychological Well-Being Over Time: Empirical Evidence from a Household Survey," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 431-456, October.
    8. Pascoe Pleasence & Nigel J. Balmer, 2007. "Changing Fortunes: Results from a Randomized Trial of the Offer of Debt Advice in England and Wales," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(3), pages 651-673, November.
    9. Daniel Hojman & Alvaro Miranda & Jaime Ruiz-Tagle, 2013. "Over Indebtedness and Depression: Sad Debt or Sad Debtors?," Working Papers wp385, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    10. Maite Blázquez & Santiago Budría & Ana I. Moro‐Egido, 2021. "Job Insecurity, Debt Burdens, and Individual Health," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 67(4), pages 872-899, December.
    11. Hoelzl, Erik & Pollai, Maria & Kamleitner, Bernadette, 2009. "Experience, prediction and recollection of loan burden," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 446-454, June.
    12. Irina Grafova, 2011. "Financial Strain and Smoking," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 327-340, June.
    13. Keese, Matthias, 2012. "Who feels constrained by high debt burdens? Subjective vs. objective measures of household debt," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 125-141.
    14. Hojman, Daniel A. & Miranda, Álvaro & Ruiz-Tagle, Jaime, 2016. "Debt trajectories and mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 54-62.
    15. Dominik Stroukal, 2016. "A longitudinal analysis of the effect of unemployment on health," International Journal of Economic Sciences, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, vol. 5(2), pages 55-68, June.
    16. Mooli Lahad & Ran Cohen & Stratos Fanaras & Dmitry Leykin & Penny Apostolopoulou, 2018. "Resiliency and Adjustment in Times of Crisis, the Case of the Greek Economic Crisis from a Psycho-social and Community Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 333-356, January.
    17. Mewse, Avril J. & Lea, Stephen E.G. & Wrapson, Wendy, 2010. "First steps out of debt: Attitudes and social identity as predictors of contact by debtors with creditors," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1021-1034, December.
    18. Stefano Cosma & Francesco Pattarin, 2012. "Attitudes, personality factors and household debt decisions: A study of consumer credit," Centro Studi di Banca e Finanza (CEFIN) (Center for Studies in Banking and Finance) 12021, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    19. repec:diw:diwwpp:dp1950 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Manuel, Jennifer I. & Martinson, Melissa L. & Bledsoe-Mansori, Sarah E. & Bellamy, Jennifer L., 2012. "The influence of stress and social support on depressive symptoms in mothers with young children," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(11), pages 2013-2020.
    21. Brown, Sarah & Taylor, Karl & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 2005. "Debt and distress: Evaluating the psychological cost of credit," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 642-663, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:73:y:2011:i:12:p:1725-1732. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.