Financial Hardship, Hope, and Life Satisfaction Among Un/Underemployed Individuals With Psychiatric Diagnoses: A Mediation Analysis
BackgroundIndividuals with psychiatric diagnoses who are unemployed or underemployed are likely to disproportionately experience financial hardship and, in turn, lower life satisfaction (LS). Understanding the mechanisms though which financial hardship affects LS is essential to inform effective eco...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.867421/full |
| _version_ | 1818191208110882816 |
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| author | Oscar Jiménez-Solomon Oscar Jiménez-Solomon Ryan Primrose Ryan Primrose Ingyu Moon Melanie Wall Melanie Wall Melanie Wall Hanga Galfalvy Hanga Galfalvy Pablo Méndez-Bustos Pablo Méndez-Bustos Amanda G. Cruz Amanda G. Cruz Margaret Swarbrick Margaret Swarbrick Taína Laing Laurie Vite Maura Kelley Elizabeth Jennings Roberto Lewis-Fernández Roberto Lewis-Fernández |
| author_facet | Oscar Jiménez-Solomon Oscar Jiménez-Solomon Ryan Primrose Ryan Primrose Ingyu Moon Melanie Wall Melanie Wall Melanie Wall Hanga Galfalvy Hanga Galfalvy Pablo Méndez-Bustos Pablo Méndez-Bustos Amanda G. Cruz Amanda G. Cruz Margaret Swarbrick Margaret Swarbrick Taína Laing Laurie Vite Maura Kelley Elizabeth Jennings Roberto Lewis-Fernández Roberto Lewis-Fernández |
| author_sort | Oscar Jiménez-Solomon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundIndividuals with psychiatric diagnoses who are unemployed or underemployed are likely to disproportionately experience financial hardship and, in turn, lower life satisfaction (LS). Understanding the mechanisms though which financial hardship affects LS is essential to inform effective economic empowerment interventions for this population.AimTo examine if subjective financial hardship (SFH) mediates the relationship between objective financial hardship (OFH) and LS, and whether hope, and its agency and pathways components, further mediate the effect of SFH on LS among individuals with psychiatric diagnoses seeking employment.MethodsWe conducted structured interviews with participants (N = 215) of two peer-run employment programs using indicators of OFH and SFH and standardized scales for hope (overall hope, hope agency, and hope pathways) and LS. Three structural equation models were employed to test measurement models for OFH and SFH, and mediational relationships. Covariates included gender, age, psychiatric diagnosis, race/ethnicity, education, income, employment status, SSI/SSDI receipt, and site.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for items measuring OFH and SFH supported two separate hypothesized factors. OFH had a strong and significant total effect on SFH [standardized beta (B) = 0.68] and LS (B = 0.49), and a weak-to-moderate effect on hope (B = –0.31). SFH alone mediated up to 94% of the effect of OFH on LS (indirect effect B = –0.46, p < 0.01). The effect of SFH on LS through hope was small (indirect effect B = –0.09, p < 0.05), primarily through hope agency (indirect effect B = –0.13, p < 0.01) and not hope pathways. Black and Hispanic ethno-racial identification seemed to buffer the effect of financial hardship on hope and LS. Individuals identifying as Black reported significantly higher overall hope (B = 0.41–0.47) and higher LS (B = 0.29–0.46), net of the effect of OFH and SFH.ConclusionSFH is a strong mediator of the relationship between OFH and LS in our study of unemployed and underemployed individuals with psychiatric diagnoses. Hope, and particularly its agency component, further mediate a modest but significant proportion of the association between SFH and LS. Economic empowerment interventions for this population should address objective and subjective financial stressors, foster a sense of agency, and consider the diverse effects of financial hardship across ethno-racial groups. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:10:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cde8eef430ac4191846dfc9c426e5c45 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:10:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-cde8eef430ac4191846dfc9c426e5c452022-12-22T00:44:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402022-07-011310.3389/fpsyt.2022.867421867421Financial Hardship, Hope, and Life Satisfaction Among Un/Underemployed Individuals With Psychiatric Diagnoses: A Mediation AnalysisOscar Jiménez-Solomon0Oscar Jiménez-Solomon1Ryan Primrose2Ryan Primrose3Ingyu Moon4Melanie Wall5Melanie Wall6Melanie Wall7Hanga Galfalvy8Hanga Galfalvy9Pablo Méndez-Bustos10Pablo Méndez-Bustos11Amanda G. Cruz12Amanda G. Cruz13Margaret Swarbrick14Margaret Swarbrick15Taína Laing16Laurie Vite17Maura Kelley18Elizabeth Jennings19Roberto Lewis-Fernández20Roberto Lewis-Fernández21New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesCenter on Poverty and Social Policy, School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesNew York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesTeacher’s College, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesNyack College, New York, NY, United StatesNew York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesNew York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Maule, Talca, ChileNew York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Clark University, Worcester, MA, United StatesCenter of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University – The State University of New Jersy, Piscataway, NJ, United States0Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, Freehold, NJ, United States1Baltic Street AEH, Inc., Brooklyn, NY, United States1Baltic Street AEH, Inc., Brooklyn, NY, United States2Mental Health Peer Connection, Western New York Independent Living, Buffalo, NY, United States3National Disability Institute, Washington, DC, United StatesNew York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United StatesBackgroundIndividuals with psychiatric diagnoses who are unemployed or underemployed are likely to disproportionately experience financial hardship and, in turn, lower life satisfaction (LS). Understanding the mechanisms though which financial hardship affects LS is essential to inform effective economic empowerment interventions for this population.AimTo examine if subjective financial hardship (SFH) mediates the relationship between objective financial hardship (OFH) and LS, and whether hope, and its agency and pathways components, further mediate the effect of SFH on LS among individuals with psychiatric diagnoses seeking employment.MethodsWe conducted structured interviews with participants (N = 215) of two peer-run employment programs using indicators of OFH and SFH and standardized scales for hope (overall hope, hope agency, and hope pathways) and LS. Three structural equation models were employed to test measurement models for OFH and SFH, and mediational relationships. Covariates included gender, age, psychiatric diagnosis, race/ethnicity, education, income, employment status, SSI/SSDI receipt, and site.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for items measuring OFH and SFH supported two separate hypothesized factors. OFH had a strong and significant total effect on SFH [standardized beta (B) = 0.68] and LS (B = 0.49), and a weak-to-moderate effect on hope (B = –0.31). SFH alone mediated up to 94% of the effect of OFH on LS (indirect effect B = –0.46, p < 0.01). The effect of SFH on LS through hope was small (indirect effect B = –0.09, p < 0.05), primarily through hope agency (indirect effect B = –0.13, p < 0.01) and not hope pathways. Black and Hispanic ethno-racial identification seemed to buffer the effect of financial hardship on hope and LS. Individuals identifying as Black reported significantly higher overall hope (B = 0.41–0.47) and higher LS (B = 0.29–0.46), net of the effect of OFH and SFH.ConclusionSFH is a strong mediator of the relationship between OFH and LS in our study of unemployed and underemployed individuals with psychiatric diagnoses. Hope, and particularly its agency component, further mediate a modest but significant proportion of the association between SFH and LS. Economic empowerment interventions for this population should address objective and subjective financial stressors, foster a sense of agency, and consider the diverse effects of financial hardship across ethno-racial groups.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.867421/fullfinancial hardshiphopelife satisfactionunemploymentpoverty |
| spellingShingle | Oscar Jiménez-Solomon Oscar Jiménez-Solomon Ryan Primrose Ryan Primrose Ingyu Moon Melanie Wall Melanie Wall Melanie Wall Hanga Galfalvy Hanga Galfalvy Pablo Méndez-Bustos Pablo Méndez-Bustos Amanda G. Cruz Amanda G. Cruz Margaret Swarbrick Margaret Swarbrick Taína Laing Laurie Vite Maura Kelley Elizabeth Jennings Roberto Lewis-Fernández Roberto Lewis-Fernández Financial Hardship, Hope, and Life Satisfaction Among Un/Underemployed Individuals With Psychiatric Diagnoses: A Mediation Analysis Frontiers in Psychiatry financial hardship hope life satisfaction unemployment poverty |
| title | Financial Hardship, Hope, and Life Satisfaction Among Un/Underemployed Individuals With Psychiatric Diagnoses: A Mediation Analysis |
| title_full | Financial Hardship, Hope, and Life Satisfaction Among Un/Underemployed Individuals With Psychiatric Diagnoses: A Mediation Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Financial Hardship, Hope, and Life Satisfaction Among Un/Underemployed Individuals With Psychiatric Diagnoses: A Mediation Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Financial Hardship, Hope, and Life Satisfaction Among Un/Underemployed Individuals With Psychiatric Diagnoses: A Mediation Analysis |
| title_short | Financial Hardship, Hope, and Life Satisfaction Among Un/Underemployed Individuals With Psychiatric Diagnoses: A Mediation Analysis |
| title_sort | financial hardship hope and life satisfaction among un underemployed individuals with psychiatric diagnoses a mediation analysis |
| topic | financial hardship hope life satisfaction unemployment poverty |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.867421/full |
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