IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0274052.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceived manageability of debt and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A UK population analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Mark Shevlin
  • Enya Redican
  • Philip Hyland
  • Sarah Butter
  • Orla McBride
  • Todd K Hartman
  • Jamie Murphy
  • Frédérique Vallières
  • Richard P Bentall

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined the association between perceived manageability of debt and risk of depression, anxiety, and mental health help-seeking among a nationally representative sample of adults living in the United Kingdom (UK). Methods: Data was derived from the COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium (C19PRC) Study Wave 6 (August/September 2021) which examined the psychological, social, and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK adult population. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between different levels of perceived debt manageability (i.e., “easily manageable”, “some problems”, “quite serious problems”, “very serious problems”, “cannot manage at all”) and mental health related outcomes. Results: Almost a quarter of the sample (24%, n = 494) reported debt management problems, and debt manageability associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and mental health help-seeking. After adjusting for demographic variables (e.g. income, receipt of benefits), logistic regression analysis demonstrated a dose-response association between increasing levels of debt manageability problems and mental health outcomes. Specifically, adjusted odds ratios for anxiety ranged from 2.28 (‘some problems’) to 11.18 (‘very serious problems’), for depression ranged from 2.80 (‘some problems’) to 16.21 (‘cannot manage at all’), and for mental health help-seeking ranged from 1.69 (‘some problems’) to 3.18 (‘quite serious problems’, ‘very serious problems’). Conclusion: This study highlights that debt manageability problems represent a robust predictor of depression, anxiety, and mental-health help seeking.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Shevlin & Enya Redican & Philip Hyland & Sarah Butter & Orla McBride & Todd K Hartman & Jamie Murphy & Frédérique Vallières & Richard P Bentall, 2022. "Perceived manageability of debt and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A UK population analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(9), pages 1-13, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0274052
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274052
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0274052
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0274052&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0274052?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Walsemann, Katrina M. & Gee, Gilbert C. & Gentile, Danielle, 2015. "Sick of our loans: Student borrowing and the mental health of young adults in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 85-93.
    2. Wahlbeck, Kristian & McDaid, David, 2012. "Actions to alleviate the mental health impact of the economic crisis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 46543, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. World Bank, 2022. "Global Economic Prospects, June 2022," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 37224, April.
    4. World Bank, 2022. "Global Economic Prospects, January 2022," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 36519, April.
    5. Hojman, Daniel A. & Miranda, Álvaro & Ruiz-Tagle, Jaime, 2016. "Debt trajectories and mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 54-62.
    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. Jinhee Kim & Swarn Chatterjee, 2019. "Student Loans, Health, and Life Satisfaction of US Households: Evidence from a Panel Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 36-50, March.
    2. Andree,Bo Pieter Johannes & Pape,Utz Johann, 2023. "Machine Learning Imputation of High Frequency Price Surveys in Papua New Guinea," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10559, The World Bank.
    3. Olamide Ebenezer G & Daisi, F.T., 2025. "A Multivariate Analysis of Variance Approach to Business Success Factors of SMEs in Nigeria," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(14), pages 161-173, January.
    4. Arroyo Marioli,Francisco & Vegh,Carlos A., 2023. "Fiscal Procyclicality in Commodity Exporting Countries : How Much Does It Pour andWhy ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10428, The World Bank.
    5. Jonathan D Moyer & Willem Verhagen & Brendan Mapes & David K Bohl & Yutang Xiong & Vivian Yang & Kaylin McNeil & José Solórzano & Mohammod Irfan & Cade Carter & Barry B Hughes, 2022. "How many people is the COVID-19 pandemic pushing into poverty? A long-term forecast to 2050 with alternative scenarios," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(7), pages 1-21, July.
    6. Kim, Won Joong & Ko, Juyoung & Kwon, Won Soon & Piao, Chunyan, 2025. "Time-varying sources of fluctuations in global inflation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Hamilton, Calumn & de Vries, Gaaitzen J., 2025. "The structural transformation of transition economies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. repec:ocp:ppaper:pb18-22 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Li Yuan & Xun Fan & Jing Xu & Haidong Wang, 2025. "A Study on the Intergenerational Distribution of Ecological Values of Cultivated Land: A Case of Lezhi County, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-30, June.
    10. Tugume, Moses & Ibrahim, Mona G. & Nasr, Mahmoud, 2025. "Valorization of cheese whey wastewater to achieve sustainable development goals," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    11. Zhou, Jun & Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Li, Youwei & Yue, Pengpeng & Yan, Yuhan, 2025. "The sword of damocles: Debt and depression," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    12. Naijie Guan & Alessandra Guariglia & Patrick Moore & Fangzhou Xu & Hareth Al-Janabi, 2022. "Financial stress and depression in adults: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-20, February.
    13. Julie Birkenmaier & David Rothwell & Mary Agar, 2022. "How is Consumer Financial Capability Measured?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 654-666, December.
    14. West, Steele, 2021. "The Estimation of Farm Business Inefficiency in the Presence of Debt Repayment," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315048, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Ubeda, Fernando & Mendez, Alvaro & Forcadell, Francisco Javier & López, Belén, 2024. "How socially sustainable multinational banks promote financial inclusion in developing countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Alexandrina Stoyanova & Jaime Pinilla, 2020. "The Evolution of Mental Health in the Context of Transitory Economic Changes," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 203-221, April.
    17. Iria Noa de la Fuente-Roldán & Ana Isabel Corchado-Castillo & Ana Dorado-Barbé, 2023. "Mental Health and Homelessness in the Community of Madrid (Spain): The Impact of Discrimination and Violence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    18. Yeshambel T Nigatu & Tara Elton-Marshall & Hayley A Hamilton, 2023. "Changes in household debt due to COVID-19 and mental health concerns among adults in Ontario, Canada," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(3), pages 774-783, May.
    19. Geert Dom & Jerzy Samochowiec & Sara Evans-Lacko & Kristian Wahlbeck & Guido Van Hal & David McDaid, 2016. "The Impact of the 2008 Economic Crisis on Substance Use Patterns in the Countries of the European Union," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, January.
    20. Yunchao, Cai & Abdullah Yusof, Selamah & Mohd Amin, Ruzita & Mohd Arshad, Mohd Nahar, 2020. "Household Debt and Household Spending Behavior: Evidence from Malaysia," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 54(1), pages 111-120.
    21. Pablo Ruisoto & Silvia L. Vaca & José J. López-Goñi & Raúl Cacho & Iván Fernández-Suárez, 2017. "Gender Differences in Problematic Alcohol Consumption in University Professors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-11, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:plo:pone00:0274052. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.