Financial Strain and Mental Health among Older Adults: Resilience During the Great Recession?

• In Event: 570 - Regular Session. Mental Health: Economic and Education Antecedents

Abstract

The economic recession that began in late 2007 and ended in mid-2009 has had a harmful effect on the financial well-being of older adults, but research indicates that the impact of the Great Recession extended well beyond income and assets to affect the mental health of older adults. Despite a growing number of studies focused on mental health in the period surrounding the economic downturn, there has been relatively little attention paid to the role of resilience. The present study draws on 5,366 respondents from the Health and Retirement Study to examine conditions under which disadvantage does not accumulate and lead to worse mental health among older adults. Guided by cumulative inequality theory, this research examines whether resilience mitigates the effect of financial strain on mental health among Black, White, and Hispanic older adults during the Great Recession. Results indicate that financial strain contributed to increases in anxiety and depressive symptoms between 2006 and 2010, whereas resilience exerted a protective effect. In addition, resilience reduced the effect of financial strain on depressive symptoms, but not anxiety.

Authors

• Lindsay R. Wilkinson, Baylor University

• Bethany Smith, Baylor University

• Jeffrey A Tamburello, Baylor University