Debt stress, psychological distress and overall health among adults in Ontario
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hamilton2019 - p. 90
The objectives of the current research study were to: (1) characterize adults experiencing debt stress, (2) examine the association between debt stress and aspects of health, and (3) examine the moderating influence of sociodemographic factors, specifically gender, age, employment status, education, and income on this association in a large sample of adults in Ontario, Canada.
hamilton2019 - p. 90
Data were derived from the 2014 to 2016 cycles of the CAMH Monitor, an annual survey of the general population of adults 18 years of age and older within Ontario, Canada (Ialomiteanu et al., 2015, 2017; Ialomiteanu et al., 2016). Each cycle of this cross-sectional survey employs a regionally stratified design with the sample equally allocated within each of six regions in Ontario. The survey utilizes computerassisted telephone interviewing and a two-stage (telephone number, household respondent) probability selection of telephone numbers using list-assisted random digit dialing of landline and mobile numbers.
hamilton2019 - p. 90
Debt stress measured financial stress from all debt in the household, including mortgages, credit cards, home equity loans, car loans, and other debts. A measure of debt stress was constructed from a question that asked: “In the past 12 months, how much stress did you feel because of your total debt, if any? Would you say a great deal of stress, quite a bit of stress, some stress, very little stress or no stress at all?” Response categories included an additional option for “don’t have any debt”. A 6-category measure was constructed to reflect reports of no debt, debt with no stress, debt with little stress, debt with some stress, debt with quite a bit of stress, and debt with a great deal of stress.
hamilton2019 - p. 90
Psychological distress was measured using the validated Kessler-6 (K6) psychological distress scale, a 6-item screener for detecting nonspecific psychological distress or anxiety-mood disorders (Kessler et al., 2003a,b). Respondents were asked how often during the preceding 30 days they felt nervous, hopeless, restless, depressed, worthless, or that “everything was an effort”.
hamilton2019 - p. 90
Self-reported overall mental health was assessed using a question and response choices similar to that for overall health. The question was: “In general, would you say your overall MENTAL HEALTH is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?” For analysis purposes, the measure was coded so that higher numbers reflected better overall mental health. An additional binary measure was also created to reflect poor or fair mental health (1) vs. other mental health status (good, very good, or excellent).
hamilton2019 - p. 90
Self-reported overall general health was based on responses to a question that asked: “In general, would you say your overall HEALTH is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?”