The Role of Economizing and Financial Strain in Australian University Students’ Psychological Well-Being

Stuart Watson (), Bonnie Barber and Suzanne Dziurawiec

Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 2015, vol. 36, issue 3, 433 pages

Abstract: University students have reported that they engage increasingly in more financial economizing behaviors to cope with limited resources, often to the detriment of their well-being. The objectives of this study were to investigate the mediating role of perceived financial strain between economizing behaviors and depressed mood and life satisfaction, and to compare this mediator model to the prevailing direct effects model currently reflected in the literature. Using structural equation modelling, latent-variable mediation analysis supported the notion that economizing behaviors significantly, but indirectly, predict greater depressed mood and lower life satisfaction through perceived financial strain. When examined using non-hierarchical model comparison indices, the mediation model was a superior fit to the data, compared to the direct effects model. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Keywords: Economizing; Financial strain; Stress appraisal; University students; Well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1007/s10834-014-9404-5

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