Low financial well-being and mature adults' ecological momentary mood: a pathway to development of depression?

Poverty and poor financial functioning are risk factors for depression, but risk mechanisms are incompletely understood. The current study tested a model in which low financial well-being (FWB) functions as a chronic stressor, increasing emotional distress during daily life, the cumulative burden of which leads to increases in depressive symptomatology.

In the Understanding America Study, adults aged 50-85 years in the United States (N = 706) completed measures of FWB and depressive symptoms twice over a two-year period. Between these assessments, participants completed up to 42 mood reports during a week of ecological momentary assessment.

Lower baseline FWB predicted greater momentary emotional distress, as well as longitudinal increases in depressive symptoms. Momentary emotional distress mediated the relation between baseline FWB and depressive symptom changes. FWB was moderately stable over time.

Among mature adults, lower FWB may contribute to development of depressive symptomatology via momentary emotional distress. Replication of these novel results is needed. Interventions aimed at increasing FWB or decreasing stress-reactivity are discussed as potential means to prevent or treat depression.