Financial distress/well-being and living situation in Ecuadorian health workers

Abstract

The tendency to live alone is a relatively recent phenomenon in Ecuador, but it is expanding rapidly. This study aims to identify factors associated with financial distress/well-being according to living situation (living alone vs. living with a partner) in Ecuadorian health workers. This study examined the construct of financial distress/well-being in a sample of 800 Ecuadorian health workers using cross-sectional data. Living situation was compared using generalized linear model analyses including income, age, children living at home, self-perception of health, depression, anxiety and stress, perceived social support, positive mental health, and hedonistic and austere profiles. Regarding financial well-being, workers living alone ranked lower and workers living with a partner ranked higher. In workers living alone the main sources of financial distress/well-being were income, children living at home, perceived social support, positive mental health, and hedonistic attitude towards indebtedness. In workers living with a partner the main sources of financial distress/well-being were income, age, self-perception of health, depression, anxiety and stress, perceived social support, positive mental health, and austere attitude towards indebtedness. Based on our results, we discuss potential public policy interventions that can be used to improve workers’ financial well-being.

Profiles of older adults according to their life and food-related life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic: the importance of the social environment

“…Nevertheless, these results may be paradoxical given that 67.4% of the total sample reported a monthly income of less than USD 324, while non-statistical differences in the monthly income between profiles were found. Our findings thus contradict studies associating greater financial wellbeing with higher income [e.g., ( 40 , 65 )].…”

“…These types of support may have alleviated the financial distress of older adults who lived independently, mainly found in Profiles 2 and 3. Second, financial wellbeing has also been associated with life satisfaction via social support ( 42 , 65 ). This mechanism suggests that the more positively older adults perceived their financial situation, the closer their relationships are with family and friends, which in turn increases life satisfaction.…”

“…The questionnaire also did not probe who were the “others” who provided support outside the circles of family and friends. In addition, self-rated mental and physical health has been related to life satisfaction and financial distress [e.g., ( 57 , 65 )], but these variables were not assessed in the questionnaire. Finally, these profiles may respond to the specific context of COVID-19, and profiles may vary in the aftermath of the pandemic.…”

“…Higher mean scores entail higher levels of financial wellbeing. A Spanish version of this scale was used in this study, which showed good levels of internal consistency (α = 0.92) in studies in Ecuador ( 65 ). In this study, the FDFW scale showed good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92).…”

Psychosocial linkages of consumers' income security, financial well-being and social loneliness

“…Chatterjee et al's (2019) measure for income security andPrawitz et al's (2006) Personal Financial Wellness measure for FWB. The latter measure has been used in many studies, such as work byGutter and Copur (2011), Howell et al (2012),Lobos et al (2021) and others.…”