Financial Strain, Gender, and Mental Health: A Cross-National Study of Canadian and American Workers

• In Event: Open Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 18: Stratification and Economic Inequality

Abstract

Financial insecurity has become a central concern in the post-COVID-19 economy, yet its psychological consequences may not be distributed evenly across social groups. This study examines the association between financial strain and three dimensions of psychosocial well-being - psychological distress, self-esteem, and mattering - among working adults in Canada and the United States. Drawing on nationally representative data from the April 2025 wave of the Measuring Employment Sentiments and Social Inequality (MESSI) survey (N = 4,001), we test whether gender moderates the relationship between financial strain and mental health outcomes. Guided by stress process theory and gender role strain perspectives, we distinguish between differential exposure to financial strain and differential vulnerability to its effects.

Weighted OLS regression models reveal that financial strain is significantly associated with higher psychological distress and lower self-esteem and mattering in both countries. Women report higher average levels of financial strain and psychological distress, supporting differential exposure hypotheses. However, interaction models indicate that the association between financial strain and psychological distress is stronger among men in both Canada and the United States. For self-esteem, this gendered vulnerability pattern emerges in the United States but not in Canada. For mattering, the interaction is significant in Canada but not in the United States.

These findings suggest that while women experience greater economic hardship overall, men may experience greater psychological consequences when facing financial strain, consistent with theories linking masculinity to breadwinning norms and economic provision. Cross-national differences further highlight how institutional and cultural contexts can shape the psychological costs of economic insecurity.

Author

• Hasani Rose, University of Toronto