Socioeconomic Status and Financial Coping Strategies: The Mediating Role of Perceived Control

Abstract

We examine the relations among socioeconomic status, control beliefs, and two coping styles (problem-focused vs. emotion-focused) in the context of financial stress. Findings indicate that low socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to greater use of emotion-focused financial coping and lesser use of problem-focused financial coping. The effects of SES on the use of problem-focused financial coping appear to be entirely mediated by two measures of perceived control: self-confidence and fatalism. In contrast, the effects of SES on emotion-focused financial coping are not mediated in this way. Results also indicated that problem-focused and emotion-focused financial coping are differentially related to financial stress and to general psychosocial distress. These results suggest that low SES may decrease one's control beliefs, which in turn decrease the likelihood of choosing effective financial coping processes, resulting in double disadvantage.