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  • Social Psychological & Personality Science

The Sharp Spikes of Poverty: Financial Scarcity Is Related to Higher Levels of Distress Intensity in Daily Life

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Erin L. Frey, Sandra Matz, Bertus Jeronimus and Adam D. Galinsky
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Abstract

Although income is an important predictor of life satisfaction, the precise forces that drive this relationship remain unclear. We propose that financial resources afford individuals a path to reducing the distressing impact of everyday hassles, in turn increasing one’s life satisfaction. More specifically, we hypothesize that financial scarcity is associated with greater distress intensity in everyday life. Further, we propose that lower perceived control helps explain why financial scarcity predicts higher distress intensity and lower life satisfaction. We provide evidence for these hypotheses in a 30-day daily diary study (522 participants, 13,733 observations). A second study (N=376) further suggests that, although everyone relies on social support to ease stress, financial scarcity shrinks the sense one can use economic resources to reduce the adverse impact of daily hassles. While money may not necessarily buy happiness, it reduces the intensity of stressors experienced in daily life—and thereby increases life satisfaction.

Keywords

Distress; Affect; Control; Financial Scarcity; Life Satisfaction; Income; Poverty; Well-being

Citation

Jachimowicz, Jon M., Erin L. Frey, Sandra Matz, Bertus Jeronimus, and Adam D. Galinsky. "The Sharp Spikes of Poverty: Financial Scarcity Is Related to Higher Levels of Distress Intensity in Daily Life." Social Psychological & Personality Science (forthcoming).
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About The Author

Jon M. Jachimowicz

Organizational Behavior
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  • The Passionate Pygmalion Effect: Passionate Employees Attain Better Outcomes in Part Because of More Preferential Treatment by Others By: Ke Wang, Erica R. Bailey and Jon M. Jachimowicz
  • Embracing Field Studies as a Tool for Learning By: Jon M. Jachimowicz
  • Inequality in Researchers' Minds: Four Guiding Questions for Studying Subjective Perceptions of Economic Inequality By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Shai Davidai, Daniela Goya-Tocchetto, Barnabas Szaszi, Martin Day, Stephanie Tepper, L. Taylor Phillips, M. Usman Mirza, Nailya Ordabayeva and Oliver P. Hauser
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