Financial Behaviors, Government Assistance, and Financial Satisfaction.

Using data from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS), this study examined the relationships between poor financial behaviors, receiving government assistance, and financial satisfaction while accounting for adverse financial experiences. The logistic regression results showed that both poor financial behaviors and adverse financial experiences increased the likelihood of receiving government assistance. The OLS results indicated that receiving government assistance significantly increased levels of financial satisfaction, whereas poor financial behaviors significantly decreased levels of financial satisfaction. While the magnitude of these associations for both receiving government assistance and poor financial behaviors was small, adverse financial experiences had a stronger influence on the levels of financial satisfaction. When we combined poor financial behaviors and receiving government assistance into a categorical variable, we gained additional insights into the connections between these constructs that warrants further research.

Financial hardship and change in emotional well-being before to during COVID-19 pandemic among middle-aged and older Americans: Moderating effects of internal coping resources.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between financial hardship and change in emotional well-being-positive and negative affect-before to during the COVID-19 pandemic among middle-aged and older Americans and to examine the extent to which associations were moderated by internal coping resources-dispositional mastery and optimism. METHOD: Data derived from the Leave-Behind Questionnaire in the 2016 and 2020 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of U.S. adults aged 51 and older (N = 1312). We estimated multivariate ordinary least squares regression models with interaction terms to evaluate prospectively the benefits of mastery and optimism as internal coping resources for middle-aged and older adults. RESULTS: Dispositional mastery moderated the effects of financial hardship on changes in negative and positive affect, respectively, before to during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, optimism did not significantly moderate the effects of financial hardship on change in negative and positive affect before to during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings have implications for interventions aimed at improving middle-aged and older adults' emotional well-being by promoting internal coping resources. Specifically, interventions should focus on financial hardship and mastery for vulnerable middle-aged and older adults in the context of public health crises.

The Effect of Cash Flow Problems and Resource Intermingling on Small Business Recovery and Resilience After a Natural Disaster.

This study investigated the implications that cash flow problems and resource intermingling between the family and the business had on small business recovery and resilience after a natural disaster. This study contributed to the literature by studying the impact of cash flow problems and resource intermingling on small businesses in two separate periods: right after the natural disaster (period 1) and eight years after the disaster (period 2). Period 1 determined whether the business was in operation directly following Hurricane Katrina. Period 2 investigated success of the small business after Katrina (compared to pre-Katrina success). Results showed that cash flow problems and resource intermingling did not affect operational status directly following Katrina, but did play a role in business resilience in the long run.

Financial Strain, Employment, and Role Captivity and Overload Over Time Among Dementia Family Caregivers.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study examined how financial strain and changes in employment status affect subjective stressors over 12 months in 184 family caregivers of individuals with dementia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Subjective stressors of role overload and role captivity, and employment status were measured at baseline, 6-, and 12-months. Self-reports on financial strain were measured at baseline only. Caregivers were categorized into 3 groups based on changes in their employment status during the study over 12 months: (a) who were never employed, (b) who experienced some sort of employment status change, either going from employment to unemployment or vice versa, and (c) who were always employed. Growth curve analyses were conducted to examine within-person changes in role overload and role captivity, and associations with employment and financial strain. RESULTS: Caregivers with greater financial strain at baseline had higher levels of role overload and increasing role captivity over time. Caregivers who experienced a caregiving transition and had low financial strain at baseline showed greater decrease in role captivity over 12 months. Although caregivers who were consistently unemployed reported lower levels of role overload, they also showed steeper increase over time than those who were consistently employed. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Caregivers' perceptions of financial strain add to the long-term stress of the caregiving role. Changes in caregivers' employment status may have complex associations with their feelings of stress over time.

Older Workers: Who are the working poor in the U.S.?

With data from the 2000 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the purpose of this study was to provide a profile of older workers who live poverty, and to compare the demographic, financial, employment, and health attributes of such individuals to similar persons not living in poverty. This study found that 3.5% of employed individuals between the ages of 51 and 61 belonged to the class of working poor. The results of the multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that the older working poor were more likely to be non-White, less educated, non-married, and had lower levels of net worth than the working non-poor. They were more likely to be employed part time and were less likely to be covered by employee-sponsored health insurance.