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

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.

Child Tax Credit, Spending Patterns, and Mental Health: Mediation Analyses of Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey during COVID-19

“…Overall findings indicate that CTC recipients in the COVID-19 pandemic are at notably decreased risk of anxiety and depression and that a substantial proportion of this lowered risk stems from spending patterns of the credit on basic necessities, child education, and household expenditure. These findings correspond with previous results about a wide range of spending patterns of CTC and lowered level of mental illnesses among CTC recipients [24,[30][31][32]34], suggesting that the risk of mental health problems is lowered for CTC recipients who spent the monthly credit on life essentials during the pandemic.…”

“…On the other hand, there may be indirect ways through which the receipt of CTC may improve mental health. CTC may also increase the perceived manageability of debt while easing mental health stress [24].…”

Mental health in Ukraine in 2023

“…Nearly half the sample (47%) reported feeling “extremely” or “very” worried about their financial security, and financial worries were associated with almost all disorders. Financial insecurity is increasingly recognized as a major risk factor for mental disorder [ 26 , 27 ]. Solutions to mental health problems are often thought to lie in psychotherapeutic or pharmacological interventions, but if a major cause of distress is financial insecurity, a solution might also be found in political and economic interventions.…”

Financial debt, worry about debt and mental health in Japan

“…For example, it might be associated with the perceived manageability of the debt – with a longer time period making the debt either easier or more difficult to service. This might be relevant as a recent study from the UK linked greater perceived difficulty in managing debt to worse mental health [ 50 ].…”