Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-2002

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Sociology

Major Professor

Suzanne Kurth

Abstract

With the emphasis on consumption in contemporary society, there is increasing concern about the consequences of consumers’ heavy dependence on credit over the past decade, and about indications of a slowing economy. These concerns in consumerism and use of credit encourage examination of the relationship between financial problems and individuals' sense of well-being.

A review of research into the financial stress and subjective well-being relationship raises questions about the role of gender and the role of satisfaction with financial situation. While previous researchers suggest satisfaction with financial situation to be a significant determinant of subjective well-being, the results are mixed for the impact of gender. The goal of this study is to address the four following questions: (a) What effects if any do objective measures of financial stress, such as being evicted from one's home or repossession of belongings, have on subjective well-being? (b) How do these objective measures of financial stress affect satisfaction with financial situation? (c) What effects if any does satisfaction with financial situation have on subjective wellbeing? and (d) Are there gender differences in these relationships?

Employing data from a sub sample (N = 784) of the 1991 General Social Survey, this study examines overall life happiness, as well as three domain specific types of happiness, i.e. happiness with family, happiness with health, and happiness with friendships. Questions about financial stress include three domains: (a) inability to purchase necessities, such as food, healthcare, or health insurance, (b) experiences of pressure from others to pay bills, such as when one reports pawning valuables to make ends meet or reports pressure from creditors and bill collectors, and (c) experiences of loss such as when one is evicted from their home, or has belongings repossessed.

Four models (one for each of the types of subjective well-being) are examined. Structural equation modeling is employed to examine the relationships among the measures of financial stress, financial satisfaction, and the subjective well-being indicators, as well as to examine the role of gender in these relationships.

As expected, the results indicate a significant negative relationship between objective measures of financial stress and satisfaction with financial situation, as well as between financial stress and subjective well-being. Yet, the results also indicate that while objective measures of financial stress have negative effects on various types of subjective well-being, satisfaction with financial situation is a more significant determinant of subjective well-being. For all four models, gender did not demonstrate any significant effect on these relationships.

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