This paper contrasts two money-related stressors—debt and economic hardship—and clarifies where debt fits into the stress process model. Debt may be a direct or indirect stressor, as something mediated by psychosocial resources, and may be a potential buffer, interacting with economic hardship. The analyses use data from a two-wave panel study of 1,463 adults. One way debt is distinct from economic hardship is that debt is more common among economically advantaged groups. Further, though debt and economic hardship are both associated with negative mental health, the influence of hardship is partly mediated by mastery. This is not true of debt. Finally, debt does not buffer the negative effects of economic hardship, nor does its influence vary by income. We conclude debt is best conceptualized as an unmediated stressor and not as a coping resource. Future research should determine whether different types of debt have distinct mental health consequences.
BrickerJesseKennickellArthur B.MooreKevin B.SabelhausJohn. 2012. “Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2007 to 2010: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances.” Federal Reserve Bulletin98(2).
2.
BrownSaraTaylorKarlWheatley PriceStephan. 2005. “Debt and Distress: Evaluating the Psychological Cost of Credit.” Journal of Economic Psychology26:642-63.
3.
BrownRobyn L.TurnerR. Jay. 2012. “Physical Limitation and Anger: Stress Exposure and Assessing the Role of Psychosocial Resources.” Society and Mental Health2(2):69-84.
4.
ButterworthPeterRodgersBryanWindsorTim D.2009. “Financial Hardship, Socio-economic Position and Depression: Results from the PATH through Life Survey.” Social Science & Medicine69:229-37.
5.
DrenteaPatricia. 2000. “Age, Debt and Anxiety.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior41:437-50.
6.
DrenteaPatricia. 2014. “Debt and Health in the South.” Paper presented at the meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Charlotte, NC.
7.
DrenteaPatriciaLavrakasPaul J.2000. “Over the Limit: The Association among Health Status, Race and Debt.” Social Science & Medicine50:517-29.
8.
DrenteaPatriciaReynoldsJohn R.2012. “Neither a Borrower nor a Lender Be: The Relative Importance of Debt and SES for Mental Health among Older Adults.” Journal of Aging and Health24:673-95.
9.
DwyerRachel E.2010. “Poverty, Prosperity, and Place: The Shape of Class Segregation in the Age of Extremes.” Social Problems57:114-37.
10.
DwyerRachel E.McCloudLauraHodsonRandy. 2011. “Youth Debt, Mastery, and Self-esteem: Class-stratified Effects of Indebtedness on Self-concept. Social Science Research40:727-41.
KahnJoan R.PearlinLeonard I.2006. “Financial Strain over the Life Course and Health among Older Adults” Journal of Health and Social Behavior47:17-31.
13.
KeisterLisa A.LeeHang Young. 2014. “The One Percent: Top Incomes and Wealth in Sociological Research.” Social Currents1(1):13-24.
14.
LahelmaEeroLaaksonenMikkoMartikainenPekkaRahkonenOssiSarlio-LähteenkorvaSirpa. 2006. “Multiple Measures of Socioeconomic Circumstances and Common Mental Disorders.” Social Science & Medicine63:1383-99.
15.
LinkBruce G.PhelanJo. 1995. “Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Disease.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior35(Extra Issue):80-94.
16.
MannRobert J.2009. “Patterns of Credit Card Use among Low- and Moderate-income Households.” Pp. 257-84 in Insufficient Funds: Savings, Assets, Credit and Banking among Low-income Households, edited by BlankR. M.BarrM. S.New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
17.
ManturukKimRileySarahRatcliffeJanneke. 2012. “Perception vs. Reality: The Relationship Between Low-income Homeownership, Perceived Financial Stress, and Financial Hardship.” Social Science Research41:276-86.
18.
McCloudLauraDwyerRachel E.2011. “The Fragile American: Hardship and Financial Troubles in the 21st Century.” Sociological Quarterly52:13-35.
19.
MeltzerH.BebbingtonP.BrughaT.JenkinsR.McManusS.DennisM. S.2011. “Personal Debt and Suicide Ideation.” Psychological Medicine41:771-78.
20.
MimuraYoko. 2008. “Housing Cost Burden, Poverty Status, and Economic Hardship among Low-income Families.” Journal of Family and Economic Issues29:152-65.
21.
MirowskyJohn. 1985. “Depression and Marital Power: An Equity Model.” American Journal of Sociology91:557-92.
22.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.1999. “Economic Hardship across the Life Course.” American Sociological Review64:548-69.
23.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.2001. “Age and the Effect of Economic Hardship on Depression.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior42:132-50.
24.
MunsterE.RugerH.OchsmannE.LetzelS.ToschkeA. M. (2009). “Over-indebtedness as a Marker of Socioeconomic Status and Its Association with Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Public Health9:286-91.
25.
O’NeillBarbaraPrawitzAimeeSorhaindoBenoitKimJinheeGarmanE. Thomas. 2006. “Changes in Health, Negative Financial Events, and Financial Distress/Financial Well-being for Debt Management Program Clients.” Financial Counseling and Planning17:46-63.
26.
ParkerKim. 2012. “The Boomerang Generation: Feeling OK about Living with Mom and Dad.” Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved April 22, 2014 (http://www.pewsocialtrends.org).
27.
PearlinLeonard I.1989. “The Sociological Study of Stress.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior30:241-56.
28.
PearlinLeonard I.SchoolerCarmi. 1978. “The Structure of Coping.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior19:2-21.
29.
PetersenAnne C.KellamSheppard G.1977. “Measurement of the Psychological Well-being of Adolescents: The Psychometric Properties and Assessment Procedures of the ‘How I Feel.’” Journal of Youth and Adolescence6:229-47.
30.
PhelanJo C.LinkBruce G.TehranifarParisa. 2010. “Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Health Inequalities: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior51:S28-S40.
31.
PudrovskaTetyanaSchiemanScottPearlinLeonardNguyenKim. 2005. “The Sense of Mastery as a Mediator and Moderator in the Association between Economic Hardship and Health in Late Life.” Journal of Aging and Health17:634-60.
32.
RadloffLenore. 1977. “The CES-D Scale: A Self Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population.” Applied Psychological Measurement1:385-401.
33.
ReadingRichardReynoldsShirley. 2001. “Debt, Social Disadvantage, and Maternal Depression.” Social Science & Medicine53:441-53.
34.
RossCatherine E.HuberJoan. 1985. “Hardship and Depression.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior26:312-27.
35.
RoystonPatrick. 2004. “Multiple Imputation of Missing Values.” Stata Journal4:227-41.
36.
SchorJuliet B.1998. The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need. New York: Harper Perennial.
37.
SpielbergerCharles D.GorsuchRichard L.LusheneRobert E.VaggPeter R.JacobsGerard A.1983. “Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.” Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
38.
SullivanTeresa A.WarrenElizabethWestbrookJay L.2000. The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
39.
SullivanTeresa. 2009, Winter. “Consumer Indebtedness and the Withering of the American Dream.” Pathways, pp. 3-5.
40.
ThoitsPeggy. 1995. “Stress, Coping and Social Support Processes: Where Are We? What Next?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior35(Extra Issue):53-79.
41.
TurnerR. J.2013 “Understanding Health Disparities: The Relevance of the Stress Process Model.” Society and Mental Health3:170-86.
42.
TurnerR. JayMarinoRalph. 1994. “Social Support and Social Structure: A Descriptive Epidemiology.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior35:193-212.
YoungMarisaSchiemanScott. 2012. “When Hard Times Take a Toll: The Distressing Consequences of Economic Hardship and Life Events within the Family-Work Interface.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior53:84-98.
