Can money buy happiness? This question has fascinated economists, scientists, and the imaginations of people like you and me throughout much of human history. But only in the last decade have researchers made headway in this long-awaited answer. Their response? For some, money helps; for others, it doesn’t make much of a difference.[1]
But what about love? Wouldn’t love make life a little better, even if you don’t have a large amount of money? This is precisely what Dr. Ashley LeBaron-Black and colleagues sought to explore when they studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As if the risk to physical health wasn’t enough, society also faced other significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including rising emotional and psychological challenges,[2] soaring unemployment rates,[3] and an increase in financial stress.[4] The COVID-19 pandemic affected individuals and families in a myriad of ways. Dr. LeBaron-Black and colleagues recently conducted a study that explored the connection between the COVID-19 pandemic, financial distress, and mental health for emerging adults.[5] First, they sought to understand if financial stress, anxiety symptoms, and depression symptoms heightened along with the impact of COVID-19. Second, they explored whether financial stress could help explain the effects that the pandemic had on individuals’ mental health (i.e., anxiety and depression). Finally, they examined whether the quality of romantic relationships could alleviate a person’s financial stress, thereby reducing anxiety and depression during the pandemic.
Their results shed some light on the links between the pandemic, financial difficulties, and mental health. They found that the COVID-19 pandemic not only increased financial stress for emerging adults, but also led to higher levels of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, they found that financial stress was also linked to higher levels of anxiety and depression. What does this mean? Essentially, financial struggles amplified the negative impact of COVID-19, and financial difficulties can make mental health struggles even worse.
However, to the research team’s surprise, their findings contradicted their initial belief that strong romantic relationships would protect against financial distress during the pandemic. Instead, they discovered that the pandemic had the biggest impact on financial stress and mental health for individuals in the best romantic relationships. The researchers made sense of this finding by suggesting that it could be due to the data being collected all at one time point, making it impossible to know what caused what. They reasoned, “It is possible that our results indicate not that lower-quality relationships worsen the negative effects of COVID-19 impact, but rather that those who have experienced the most negative effects of COVID-19 impact
have simultaneously experienced an increase in relationship quality.” In other words, going through challenging financial situations with a loved one can strengthen the bond between partners. Instead of love protecting you from financial stress, financial stress may actually provide you with a more profound love.
So, does money or love have a stronger impact on mental health? Apparently, the answer isn’t as black and white as we hoped. But maybe we can find comfort in the idea that our money problems have the potential to strengthen our love with our partners.
Takeaways
- As one way to help your mental health, reduce your financial stress as much as possible. Search for creative ways to meet your needs that minimize financial strain; thinking of outside-the-box solutions may help alleviate the situation without dipping into limited funds. Improve your financial literacy and financial habits to optimize your financial wellbeing. If needed, take a financial education course (there might be free government-sponsored programs in your area).
- When facing financial stress, try using the situation as an opportunity to work with your partner and grow closer together as you face the challenge as a team.
References:
[1] Kudrna, L., & Kushlev, K. (2022). Money does not always buy happiness, but are richer people less happy in their daily lives? It depends on how you analyze income. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.883137
[2] Robillard, R., Saad, M., Edwards, J., Solomonova, E., Pennestri, M.-H., Daros, A., Veissière, S. P. L., Quilty, L., Dion, K., Nixon, A., Phillips, J., Bhatla, R., Spilg, E., Godbout, R., Yazji, B., Rushton, C., Gifford, W. A., Gautam, M., Boafo, A., & Swartz, R. (2020). Social, financial and psychological stress during an emerging pandemic: Observations from a population survey in the acute phase of COVID-19. BMJ Open, 10(12), e043805. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043805
[3] Kochhar, R. (2020, June 11). Unemployment rose higher in three months of COVID-19 than it did in two years of the great recession. Pew Research Center.
[4] Rura, N. (2020, September 23). Poll: 46% of U.S. households report facing serious financial problems during the coronavirus outbreak. News. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/poll-46-of-u-s-households-report-facing-serious-financial-problems-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/
[5] LeBaron-Black, A. B., Yorgason, J. B., Curran, M. A., Saxey, M. T., & Okamoto, R. M. (2022). The ABC-X’s of stress among U.S. emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: Relationship quality, financial distress, and mental health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(20), 13125. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013125