A Longitudinal Study of Financial Difficulties and Mental Health in a National Sample of British Undergraduate Students

doi:10.1007/s10597-016-0052-0

. 2017 Apr;53(3):344-352.

doi: 10.1007/s10597-016-0052-0. Epub 2016 Jul 29.

A Longitudinal Study of Financial Difficulties and Mental Health in a National Sample of British Undergraduate Students

Thomas Richardson^{1

2

3}, Peter Elliott^{4

5}, Ron Roberts⁶, Megan Jansen^{7

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Mental Health Recovery Team North, Solent NHS Trust, St. Mary's Community Health Campus, Milton Road, Portsmouth, PO3 6AD, UK. thr1g10@soton.ac.uk.
² School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. thr1g10@soton.ac.uk.
³ Psychology, Kingston University, London, UK. thr1g10@soton.ac.uk.
⁴ School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
⁵ Psychology, Kingston University, London, UK.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Kingston University, Surrey, KT1 2EE, UK.
⁷ Mental Health Recovery Team North, Solent NHS Trust, St. Mary's Community Health Campus, Milton Road, Portsmouth, PO3 6AD, UK.

PMID: 27473685
PMCID: PMC5337246
DOI: 10.1007/s10597-016-0052-0

A Longitudinal Study of Financial Difficulties and Mental Health in a National Sample of British Undergraduate Students

Thomas Richardson et al. Community Ment Health J. 2017 Apr.

. 2017 Apr;53(3):344-352.

doi: 10.1007/s10597-016-0052-0. Epub 2016 Jul 29.

Authors

Thomas Richardson^{1

2

3}, Peter Elliott^{4

5}, Ron Roberts⁶, Megan Jansen^{7

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Mental Health Recovery Team North, Solent NHS Trust, St. Mary's Community Health Campus, Milton Road, Portsmouth, PO3 6AD, UK. thr1g10@soton.ac.uk.
² School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. thr1g10@soton.ac.uk.
³ Psychology, Kingston University, London, UK. thr1g10@soton.ac.uk.
⁴ School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
⁵ Psychology, Kingston University, London, UK.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Kingston University, Surrey, KT1 2EE, UK.
⁷ Mental Health Recovery Team North, Solent NHS Trust, St. Mary's Community Health Campus, Milton Road, Portsmouth, PO3 6AD, UK.

PMID: 27473685
PMCID: PMC5337246
DOI: 10.1007/s10597-016-0052-0

Abstract

Previous research has shown a relationship between financial difficulties and poor mental health in students, but most research is cross-sectional. To examine longitudinal relationships over time between financial variables and mental health in students. A national sample of 454 first year British undergraduate students completed measures of mental health and financial variables at up to four time points across a year. Cross-sectional relationships were found between poorer mental health and female gender, having a disability and non-white ethnicity. Greater financial difficulties predicted greater depression and stress cross-sectionally, and also predicted poorer anxiety, global mental health and alcohol dependence over time. Depression worsened over time for those who had considered abandoning studies or not coming to university for financial reasons, and there were effects for how students viewed their student loan. Anxiety and alcohol dependence also predicted worsening financial situation suggesting a bi-directional relationship. Financial difficulties appear to lead to poor mental health in students with the possibility of a vicious cycle occurring.

Keywords: Debt; Financial; Mental Health; Student; Undergraduate.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethical Approval

The study has been approved by the Ethics Committee at the School of Psychology, University of Southampton, UK. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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References

1. Andrews B., Wilding J. M. The relation of depression and anxiety to life-stress and achievement in students. British Journal of Psychology. 2004;95(4):509–521. doi: 10.1348/0007126042369802. - DOI - PubMed
1. Babor T. F., Higgins-Biddle J. C., Saunders J. B., Monteiro M. G. The alcohol use disorders identification test: Guidelines for use in primary care. 2. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2001.
1. Bayram N., Bilgel N. The prevalence and socio-demographic correlations of depression, anxiety and stress among a group of university students. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2008;43(8):667–672. doi: 10.1007/s00127-008-0345-x. - DOI - PubMed
1. Blanco C., Okuda M., Wright C., Hasin D. S., Grant B. F., Liu S.-M., et al. Mental health of college students and their non-college-attending peers: Results from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2008;65(12):1429. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.65.12.1429. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Carney C., McNeish S., McColl J. The impact of part time employment on students’ health and academic performance: A Scottish perspective. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 2005;29(4):307–319. doi: 10.1080/03098770500353300. - DOI

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[1] Andrews B., Wilding J. M. The relation of depression and anxiety to life-stress and achievement in students. British Journal of Psychology. 2004;95(4):509–521. doi: 10.1348/0007126042369802. - DOI - PubMed

[2] Andrews B., Wilding J. M. The relation of depression and anxiety to life-stress and achievement in students. British Journal of Psychology. 2004;95(4):509–521. doi: 10.1348/0007126042369802. - DOI - PubMed

[3] Babor T. F., Higgins-Biddle J. C., Saunders J. B., Monteiro M. G. The alcohol use disorders identification test: Guidelines for use in primary care. 2. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2001.

[4] Babor T. F., Higgins-Biddle J. C., Saunders J. B., Monteiro M. G. The alcohol use disorders identification test: Guidelines for use in primary care. 2. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2001.

[5] Bayram N., Bilgel N. The prevalence and socio-demographic correlations of depression, anxiety and stress among a group of university students. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2008;43(8):667–672. doi: 10.1007/s00127-008-0345-x. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Bayram N., Bilgel N. The prevalence and socio-demographic correlations of depression, anxiety and stress among a group of university students. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2008;43(8):667–672. doi: 10.1007/s00127-008-0345-x. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Blanco C., Okuda M., Wright C., Hasin D. S., Grant B. F., Liu S.-M., et al. Mental health of college students and their non-college-attending peers: Results from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2008;65(12):1429. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.65.12.1429. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Blanco C., Okuda M., Wright C., Hasin D. S., Grant B. F., Liu S.-M., et al. Mental health of college students and their non-college-attending peers: Results from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2008;65(12):1429. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.65.12.1429. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Carney C., McNeish S., McColl J. The impact of part time employment on students’ health and academic performance: A Scottish perspective. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 2005;29(4):307–319. doi: 10.1080/03098770500353300. - DOI

[10] Carney C., McNeish S., McColl J. The impact of part time employment on students’ health and academic performance: A Scottish perspective. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 2005;29(4):307–319. doi: 10.1080/03098770500353300. - DOI

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A Longitudinal Study of Financial Difficulties and Mental Health in a National Sample of British Undergraduate Students

Affiliations

A Longitudinal Study of Financial Difficulties and Mental Health in a National Sample of British Undergraduate Students

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Ethical Approval

Conflict of Interest

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Cited by

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Medical