Economic / Financial Strain, Stress and Distress

Measures of economic or financial strain, stress, or distress capture the stressful feelings about one’s financial situation.

Measure

Source: Prawitz A, Garman ET, Sorhaindo B, et al. The InCharge financial distress/financial well-being scale: Development, administration, and score interpretation. Financial Counseling and Planning. 2006;17:34–50.

Psychometric properties: This is one item from the eight-item InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being (IFDFW) Scale. Cronbach’s alpha for the IFDFW = 0.956; Factor loading for this item = .91.

Some people tend to be very thrifty, saving money whenever they have the chance, while others are very spending-oriented, buying whenever they can and even borrowing to consume more. How would you classify yourself?

  • Very thrifty, saving money whenever I can
  • Somewhat thrifty, often saving money
  • Neither thrifty nor spending oriented
  • Somewhat spending oriented, seldom saving money
  • Very spending oriented, hardly ever saving money

Measure

Source: Faber RJ, O’Guinn TC. A clinical screener for compulsive buying. Journal of Consumer Research. 1992;19(3):459-469.

Psychometric properties: Five items from the seven-item Compulsive Buying Scale (Faber and O’Guinn, 1992), with the full scale reporting Cronbach’s alpha = .95

How satisfied are you with:

Extremely dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither dissatisfied or satisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Extremely satisfied
Your income
What you can purchase
Your housing conditions
Your household’s financial situation

Measure

Source: Mugenda OM, Hira TK, Fanslow AM. Assessing the causal relationship among communication, money management practices, satisfaction with financial status, and satisfaction with quality of life. Lifestyles Family and Economic Issues. 1990;11(4):343-360.

Psychometric properties:
Cronbach’s alpha = .81

What do you feel is the level of your financial stress today?
(response options range from 1 [overwhelming stress] to 10 [no stress at all])*

*Response options that the Tucker-Seeley Research Lab included in the Money-Health Connection survey were: Overwhelming stress, Above average stress, Average stress, Some stress, No stress at all.

Measure

Source: Shapiro GK, Burchell BJ. Measuring financial anxiety. Journal of Neuroscience. 2012;5(2):92.

Psychometric properties: Cronbach’s alpha = 0.809

Financial Anxiety Scale (FAS):

Very true Somewhat true Somewhat untrue Completely untrue
I find monitoring my bank or credit accounts very boring
I prefer not to think about the state of my personal finances
Thinking about my personal finances can make me feel guilty
There’s little point in saving money and being careful with it, because you could lose it all through no fault of your own
Thinking about my personal finances can make me feel anxious
I get myself into situations where I do not know where I’m going to get the money to “bail” myself out
Discussing my finances can make my heart race or make me feel stressed
I do not make a big enough effort to understand my finances
I find looking at my bank statements unpleasant
I would rather someone else who I trusted kept my finances organized

Measure

Source: Norvilitis JM, Szablicki PB, Wilson SD. Factors influencing levels of credit-card debt in college students. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2003;33(5):935-947.

Psychometric properties:
Cronbach’s alpha = 0.74

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither disagree nor agree Agree Strongly agree
I am uncomfortable with the amount of debt I am in
I worry about repaying my student loans
I worry about repaying my credit cards
I think I am in good financial shape
I think a lot about the debt I am in
I have had arguments with others (parents, friends, significant others) about my level of spending
Five years from now, I will not be in credit card debt
One year from now, I will not be in credit card debt

Measure

Source: Creed PA, Klisch J. Future outlook and financial strain: Testing the personal agency and latent deprivation models of unemployment and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 2005;10(3):251-260.

Psychometric properties: Cronbach’s alpha = 0.92

Strongly agree Agree Somewhat agree Neither agree nor disagree Somewhat agree Disagree Strongly disagree
My income usually allows me to socialize as often as I like
My income rarely allows me to socialize as often as I like
I often have enough money to buy treats for myself
I rarely have enough money to buy treats for myself
My income usually allows me to do the things I want
My income rarely allows me to do the things I want
My income doesn’t restrict me from living as well as my friends
My income restricts me from living as well as my friends
From the income I receive I often have money left for savings
From the income I receive I rarely have money left for savings
My level of income usually allows me to make plans for the future
My level of income rarely allows me to make plans for the future

Measure

Source: Pearlin LI, Schooler C. The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1978;19:2-21.

Psychometric properties: Principal component analysis with varimax rotation, item loadings shown in brackets: (1) Worried [.85]; (2) Bothered or upset [.85]; (3) Unhappy [.84]; (4) Tense [.84]; (5) Frustrated [.84]; (6) Insecure [.81]; (7) Relaxed [-.70]; (8) Contented [-.69].

When you think of your current financial situation, how do you feel?

Not at all A little Somewhat Very
Worried
Bothered or upset
Tense
Unhappy
Frustrated
Insecure
Relaxed
Content