Regulatory Flexibility of Sustaining Daily Routines and Mental Health in Adaptation to Financial Strain: A Vignette Approach

Wai Kai Hou, Li Liang, Clint Hougen and George A. Bonanno
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Wai Kai Hou: Department of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Li Liang: Centre for Psychosocial Health, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Clint Hougen: Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, New York, NY 11530, USA
George A. Bonanno: Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: A vignette approach was adopted to investigate flexibility of sustaining daily routines and whether and how this ability was related to mental health at different levels of financial strain. Three separate studies were conducted with community-dwelling adults ( N = 1685) in the USA. In Study 1, we drafted, tested, and modified vignettes with reference to pilot data on the relevance of the scenarios and response options. In Study 2, regulatory flexibility of sustaining daily routines, as calculated in term of context sensitivity and responsiveness to feedback, was formulated correlations with self-reported instruments to demonstrate its concurrent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity. In Study 3, path analysis examined the associations of regulatory flexibility of sustaining daily routines with psychological distress and well-being, and the moderating effects of subjective financial strain on the associations. Results showed that the inverse associations of context sensitivity and responsiveness to feedback with depressive symptoms were stronger at medium/high levels relative to lower levels of perceived financial strain. The inverse association between context sensitivity and positive affect was significant only at higher levels of strain. Our findings could provide a feasible direction for developing scalable behavioral interventions for potential mental health problems, especially among those with a lower socioeconomic status.

Keywords: financial strain; daily routines; regulatory flexibility; mental health; vignette (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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