Since 2008, there has been a decline in the economy of several European countries, including Portugal. In the literature, it is emphasized that periods of economic uncertainty propitiate the appearance of mental health problems and diminish populations' well-being. The aim of the present study, with 729 Portuguese participants, 33.9% (n=247) males and 66.1% (n=482) females with an average age of 37 years old (M=36.99; SD=12.81), was to examine the relationship between economic hardship, financial threat, and financial well-being (i.e., economic stressors) and stress, anxiety, and depression (i.e., psychological health indicators), as well as to test the moderation effect of coping in the aforementioned relationship. To achieve these goals, a cross-sectional design was implemented and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the obtained data. Our results underline that coping affects the relationship between economic stressors and psychological health since subjects with lower coping levels are more vulnerable to economic stress factors than those with higher coping levels. The moderation effect was more evident in the relationships between economic hardship and stress, anxiety, and depression. The main implications of this study are presented, as well as its' limitations and suggestions for future research.
Between 2011-2014 Portugal faced an economic crisis. During a crisis, individuals develop threat perceptions regarding their financial situation. When individuals perceive that their financial situation worsens, negative psychological outcomes emerge. The present study assessed the relationship between financial threat and three negative psychological outcomes (stress, anxiety, and depression), and tested the moderating role of proactive coping and social support, individually and combined, on this relationship.The moderating role of sociodemographic variables (age, gender, marital status, and professional situation) was also considered. A sample of 729 participants, 33.9% males and 66.1% females, was collected online between March-June 2013. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the obtained data. Financial threat was positively and significantly associated with stress, anxiety, and depression. Proactive coping moderated the relationship between financial threat and depression. Social support, individually and combined with proactive coping, did not moderate the relationship between financial threat and any of the negative psychological outcomes. Age moderated the relationship between financial threat and stress. The main implications of this study are presented, as well as its limitations and suggestions for future works.
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