Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.3935/rsp.v13i3.418
Financial Circumstances and the Health of the Unemployed in Croatia: Does financial deprivation lead to poorer health?
Branimir Šverko
; Odsjek za psihologiju, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Darja Maslić Seršić
; Odsjek za psihologiju, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Zvonimir Galić
; Odsjek za psihologiju, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Abstract
It is generally believed that available financial resources modify the adverse impacts of unemployment on health. Depleted financial resources aggravate the negative effects of a job loss, while possessing financial resources can cushion the stresses of unemployment. A recent meta-analysis (McKee-Ryan et al., 2005) has established that available financial resources and perceived level of financial strain are associated with mental health of unemployed people, but not with their physical health. Moreover, the study has shown that there are very few studies exploring the relationship between financial situation and physical health. In accordance with that, the aim of this paper is to further explore the connection between available financials resources and mental and physical health of unemployed persons. The data were collected on a representative sample of unemployed persons in Croatia (N = 1138). Both objective (per capita household income) and subjective financial deprivation (frequency of financial worries and sufficiency of income for the satisfaction of various needs) were assessed with a series of questionnaire scales. Subjective health was assessed by the Croatian version of the SF-36 Health Survey, a psychometrically sound instrument tapping physical and psychological health. The results revealed that objective and subjective financial deprivation is related to both mental and physical health. The degree of association is higher for mental health and for the subjective measures of financial deprivation. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings have been discussed.
Keywords
unemployment; objective financial deprivation; subjective financial deprivation; subjective health
Hrčak ID:
30297
URI
Publication date:
4.12.2006.
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