We study the effects on poverty of changes in unemployment in the European Union for different age groups and household types to test whether households with children are more sensitive to rising unemployment rates. To do so, we look at the sensitivity of poverty rates of selected population groups to unemployment on a twenty-year panel constructed for 29 European countries. Our findings lend support to the thesis that the sensitivity of the risk of poverty of young households with children to changes in the unemployment rate is larger than that of the rest of households. Within them, single parents show the highest sensitivity to unemployment changes. An important contribution compared to other studies is that we also analyze the effect of unemployment on the intensity and chronicity of poverty. In these other dimensions, the greater sensitivity of households with children to rising unemployment is also confirmed.
Improving family financial resilience is not only the core path to achieve healthy financial development, but also an inherent requirement for promoting high-quality financial development. Based on the perspective of the whole process of impact response, this study creatively constructs the measurement framework of family financial resilience from the three dimensions of “family members’ planning ability, family assets protection ability, and family welfare resilience”. Using the data of China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) in 2015, 2017, and 2019, this study uses the entropy method to measure family financial resilience, introduces the finite mixture model with accompanying variables to identify the resilience pattern and its dynamic transformation, and explores the deep mechanism of pattern transformation based on the joint distance covariance test and high-dimensional mediation effect model. The study found that: (1) the evolution of chronological sequence shows the characteristics of gradient improvement, and the resilience of the eastern region is significantly higher than that of the central and western regions; (2) the stage transition characteristics of family financial resilience can be divided into three categories: dependent, transitional and autonomous, and there is a phenomenon of mutual conversion between the three categories; (3) the mechanism test shows that the mechanism of government support has experienced the transformation from “direct support” to “path activation” and then to “market driven”, and the intermediary path of economic foundation, financial development and digital economy is the core driving force of this mode transformation. The evaluation framework constructed in this study provides a new paradigm for the study of family financial resilience and provides a scientific basis for the formulation of differentiated policies and the optimization of resource allocation.
While the transition to parenthood is typically marked by increased expenses and reduced financial well-being, existing research has predominantly focused on the impact of parenthood on wage disparities. However, wages alone do not fully encompass financial well-being, which is significantly influenced by varying expectations and parenting styles across genders and occupational classes. This underscores the importance of incorporating subjective financial experiences into the literature on the financial consequences of the transition to parenthood. Using 30 waves of BHPS/UKHLS (1991–2021) and employing fixed-effects models, this paper examines the gendered relationship between the transition to parenthood and financial well-being and explores how the patterns may vary by employment and occupational status. The results demonstrate that parenthood is associated with significantly reduced financial well-being, with a more pronounced effect on women than on men. For women, those in paid employment experience a greater decline compared to non-employed women, especially those in professional and managerial roles, who face the steepest reductions. In contrast, for men, while those employed also report a significantly larger decline in financial well-being, the disparities remain consistent across occupations. Overall, these findings enhance the existing literature on gender and parenthood disparities in wages by incorporating subjective financial experiences. This approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of the financial consequences of the transition to parenthood across genders and occupational classes.
The effects of universal pre-K on the enrolled child have been well researched, but it is less clear how such policies affect other members of the family. This paper contributes to the discussion by evaluating the effects of New York City’s ”Pre-K For All” initiative on its maternal labor force. Leveraging American Community Survey data, I employ two difference-in-differences models and synthetic control to assess the policy’s impact. ”Pre-K For All” significantly increases the treated labor force participation rate by about 4.2
This study examines gender differences in how job and family satisfaction affect life satisfaction in Europe. The social production function suggests that social needs are met through affection, status, and behavioral confirmation. Women are thought to be more adept at satisfying affection needs, while men are better at meeting status needs. Behavioral confirmation reinforces these roles, leading to gender-specific pathways to life satisfaction. We hypothesize that women’s life satisfaction is more influenced by family satisfaction, while men’s depends more on job satisfaction. Using European Quality of Life Survey data (2003–2016) from more than 50,000 working individuals (18–65 years) across 28 countries, we test these gender differences. To control for unobserved cultural and temporal factors, we apply country and time fixed effects linear regression models. Our results show that family satisfaction has a stronger impact on women’s life satisfaction than on men’s, while job satisfaction has a stronger association with men’s life satisfaction. Comparing gender-specific effect strengths, we find that family satisfaction influences women’s life satisfaction significantly more strongly than job satisfaction. For men, both life domain satisfactions contribute equally to life satisfaction. These findings emphasize the need for gender-sensitive well-being research, and policies promoting a work–life balance across Europe.
Valid and reliable measures of financial knowledge are needed for researchers and practitioners to optimally assess what students do and do not know about finances. Using data from students currently or recently enrolled in high school (N = 3022), community college (N = 1027), four-year college (N = 1830), or graduate school (N = 660) in the United States, we evaluate the psychometric properties of six new scales of financial knowledge in the following domains: 1) Budgeting, 2) Credit and Debt, 3) Earning Income, 4) Managing Monetary Transactions, 5) Managing Risk, and 6) Saving and Investing Financial Resources. We utilize confirmatory factor analysis, Item Response Theory modeling, measurement invariance testing, and evaluation of concurrent and known-groups validity to assess the psychometric functioning of the scales. In general, there is strong psychometric support for the use of these measures for students in the United States. Following the psychometric evaluation of these scales, One-Way ANOVA tests revealed significant differences on all six financial knowledge scales with respect to academic level, with U.S. high school students scoring lower than undergraduate and graduate students, although the effect sizes are small.
Linguistic diversity in the United States is growing. While language is often a focal area of consideration when designing and validating international surveys, the diversity of language within one individual country may be overlooked. Indeed, despite the diversity of languages used in the United States, most surveys are still administered in English. Depending on English language proficiency, question reading levels and question complexity may impact the responses provided. This may be especially true for personal finance surveys that incorporate complex terminology. Using a sample of 978 adults living in the United States, this exploratory quantitative study provides insights on the relationships among primary language used at home, the reading difficulty of survey items, and survey responses. The analyses include descriptive statistics on the reading difficulty of select personal finance scales; comparisons of item- and score-level response variance between individuals who primarily use English at home (N = 826) and those primarily using other languages (N = 152) both generally and in relation to reading difficulty; and comparisons of response styles or tendencies by primary language, reading difficulty, and their interaction. While the findings were mixed, the results suggest that reading difficulty appears to play some role in how participants respond to personal finance surveys and that this relationship differs by language group. We recommend that cognitive interviews with linguistically diverse participants are needed to understand what cognitive processes may lead to observed differences in item response by primary language and what changes to surveys are needed to better measure linguistically diverse participants’ experiences.
Little is known about how families become resilient, i.e., how they overcome economic challenges and maintain their well-being by utilizing protective mechanisms in their ecological system. This study examined the individual, family, and community protective mechanisms on family well-being (FWB) of socioeconomically disadvantaged Turkish married individuals experiencing economic pressure (EP). The study included 1061 married individuals residing on the West coast of Türkiye. The results of the parallel-serial mediation model revealed a significant and negative direct relationship between EP and FWB, which was significantly and negatively mediated by the serial indirect roles of (i) individual mechanisms and family mechanisms, and (ii) community mechanisms and family mechanisms. The findings highlighted the importance of a multisystemic approach to resilience in low-income families in accordance with Family Stress and Family Resilience models. With its co-produced design and multisystemic approach, this study contributes to global knowledge on family resilience for future research, policy, and practice.
Research conducted in the areas of consumer/household finance and financial education is intended to inform policy, programs, and practices that encourage more positive financial decisions and outcomes. The way in which that research is conducted matters. The development, selection, and use of measures is a core element of our research; however, little attention is paid to the topic. The objective of the consensus process reported in this paper was to identify impactful and feasible recommendations for the improvement of measure-related decisions in this field. The work reported here was motivated by a previous study conducted by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) that evaluated the psychometric properties of existing personal finance measures. The aim of the current study was to identify recommendations for improving the development, selection, and application of measures in the field of consumer/household finance and financial education. A modified Delphi process was used involving a panel of seven experts who used findings from the NEFE study to identify potential recommendations and then engaged in two rounds of discussion and voting. Through this process, a set of 19 recommendations organized into five domains were identified. The intention of this paper is to motivate conversation that can lead to actions in our field that advance our understanding of and ability to impact well-being in the financial domain of life.
The economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread economic harm to families across the United States. Single-mother families with young children were particularly vulnerable to these negative effects as many were already in precarious economic positions. Given the harmful effects of economic deprivation in early childhood on children’s lifelong health and wellbeing, it is critical to understand whether the unprecedented safety net expansions during the COVID-19 recession era mitigated income losses and prevented economic hardship among these families. We leveraged administrative data from the state of Wisconsin to estimate the short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on single mothers’ income sources (earnings, child support, and safety net benefits) and economic wellbeing with attention to differences by mothers’ race and ethnicity and labor force attachment. Our analyses compared a cohort of mothers with a nonmarital birth that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic two years following childbirth to a similar cohort of mothers who gave birth one year prior. We found that the unprecedented expansion of the safety net in 2020 more than compensated for declines in single mothers’ earnings, ultimately leading to a higher level of total personal income and reductions in poverty. Black single mothers and single mothers with strong attachment to the labor force prior to the pandemic experienced the largest increases in income among the subgroups examined. Meanwhile, Hispanic mothers with no labor force participation were the most economically vulnerable.
Traditional gender roles have relegated domestic skills to non-market spheres, underestimating their complexity and psychosocial importance and thereby perpetuating gender inequality. This study introduces and conceptualizes Household Management as a crucial ability and critically examines its dimensions, gendered expressions, and psychosocial significance through the development and factorial validation of the Household Management Scale (HoMS). The study involved 1,741 participants from Pakistan, including housewives and married men (Mage = 38 years, SD = 11.09; men = 27.3
This paper examines how family financial socialization relates to adolescents’ financial literacy. Using Spanish microdata from PISA 2022 and applying a multilevel regression approach with complex survey adjustments, we analyze whether different forms of financial interaction within the household, as well as students’ engagement in specific financial activities like holding a bank account, using payment cards or accessing mobile banking applications are associated with financial literacy scores. The results show that home-based practices and financial interactions are consistently associated with higher financial literacy, even after controlling for background characteristics. Moreover, the evidence reveals heterogeneous patterns, with parental involvement being particularly relevant for boys and for students from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Overall, the findings point to the importance of recognizing the household as a key environment for financial socialization and underline the value of policies that, alongside strengthening school provision, support parents in fostering their children’s financial understanding.
This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a widely used, 10-item subjective financial well-being scale (Netemeyer et al. 2018) among a diverse sample of individuals in committed relationships, including those in different-gender, same-gender, and gender minority couple relationships. Given systemic financial disparities among sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations, we examined whether this measure and its subscales (current money management stress and expected future financial security) functioned equivalently across groups. Using data from 498 participants, we assessed internal consistency, factor structure, measurement equivalence, and convergent and discriminant validity. Results supported the two-factor model, and the scale demonstrated strong reliability, measurement equivalence across relationship groups, and expected associations with financial behaviors, life satisfaction, and relationship quality. Between-group comparisons also revealed that participants in different-gender and same-gender couple relationships reported meaningfully better financial well-being than gender-minority participants in relationships. These findings suggest that this validated scale is appropriate for use with SGM individuals and can support future research and practice aimed at improving financial well-being in diverse populations.
Loneliness has emerged as a significant public health concern across Europe, yet evidence on its developmental determinants among young people remains limited. Drawing on attachment theory and life-course perspectives, this study examines whether childhood health, social, and family disadvantage are associated with frequent loneliness in young people aged 16–29, and whether these associations differ by gender. Using data from the 2022 EU Loneliness Survey, multilevel logistic regression models were estimated across 27 European countries. Poor peer integration during school years is most strongly and consistently associated with frequent loneliness across both genders, as are low parental closeness and exposure to family drinking. Gender-stratified analyses further reveal that these relational disadvantages show stronger associations among young females, while health-related household adversity, including family chronic illness and mental illness, shows stronger associations among young males. These associations remain robust across sensitivity analyses, including alternative model specifications and loneliness measures. The findings extend prior work on childhood disadvantage to the domain of social well-being, identifying peer and family relational contexts in childhood as significant correlates of loneliness in young people.
As house prices continue to soar in China, understanding the implications on household finances becomes paramount for policymakers and stakeholders alike. Many individuals find themselves burdened with substantial debt, potentially leading to decreased family consumption. Scholars posit that individuals may curtail their consumption either to accumulate funds for purchasing a house or to repay their loans. Those burdened with significant mortgages are referred to as “mortgage slaves”, and this phenomenon is known as the “mortgage slave effect”. This paper employs propensity score matching (PSM) and a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to examine the effects of house purchase behavior on household consumption and savings. The findings reveal that upon purchasing houses, all types of households experience a decline in their financial assets, with risky financial assets exhibiting the most significant reduction. In contrast, household consumption generally increases post-house purchases, especially concerning essential expenditures. Spending on clothing, food, and durable goods increases to varying degrees, whereas expenditures on education and health decline. The impact of being classified as "mortgage slaves" on household consumption and savings hinges on whether the purchase has already occurred. When a family plans to buy a house, it tends to reduce consumption and increase savings. However, once the purchase has been made, savings decrease, and consumption increases. Furthermore, wealth effects also exert an influence on consumption and portfolio choices, as families tend to increase their consumption and invest more in risky assets when the value of their house rises. These findings shed light on the intricate relationship between housing purchase decisions, consumption patterns, and savings behaviors.
Quality measurement is a requirement for good science and an important consideration in whether the science should be relied on for policy, program development, innovation, and future research. Despite the fundamental importance of measurement, it receives relatively little attention in the field of family finance. This special issue seeks to stimulate conversation on the subject and communicate JFEI’s commitment to supporting measurement efforts.
This paper investigates how household educational attainment and labor market specialization shape both expenditures on domestic services and the mode of hiring domestic workers. Using microdata from the Spanish Family Income Survey (2016–2023), we analyze the likelihood of hiring domestic help directly and formally, as well as the amounts spent on services and social security contributions. Our results show that educational level and occupational status are strong predictors of both domestic service expenditure and formal direct hiring. Households headed by self-employed individuals or those with university degrees are significantly more likely to outsource domestic work and spend considerably more when they do. These findings suggest that domestic service consumption reflects not only income or preferences, but also a reallocation of household labor, whereby specialized, highly skilled members substitute unpaid domestic tasks with market services.
With the continuous expansion of flexible employment, its potential association with fertility has increasingly attracted scholarly attention. However, few studies have examined whether an individual’s flexible employment status is associated with the fertility intentions of his/her spouse. This study aims to explore the interdependence associations between flexible employment and fertility intentions among couples of childbearing age. Data for this study came from the 2018 and 2022 waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), comprising a sample of 1898 couples aged 20–49. We examined both the actor and partner effects of flexible employment on fertility intentions by adopting the Lagged Dependent Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (LDAPIM), and further explored the heterogeneity of these effects with respect to residence and education level. The results indicate that both husbands’ and wives’ flexible employment exert significant actor effects on fertility intentions, while the partner effect is observed only in husbands’ flexible employment, which is significantly associated with lower fertility intentions among their wives. Moreover, the heterogeneity analysis reveals that the actor effect of flexible employment on fertility intention is significant only among rural couples, whereas neither the actor nor partner effects are significant among urban couples. In families where both spouses have a low educational level, only the actor effect of flexible employment is significant, while the partner effect is not. In contrast, in families where the wife’s educational level is higher than the husband’s, husbands’ flexible employment has a significantly negative partner effect on wives’ fertility intentions. In other educational matching patterns, neither actor nor partner effects are statistically significant. This study identifies associations between flexible employment and fertility intentions among couples of childbearing age, suggesting that policy efforts should focus on improving the social security system to create a more supportive and friendly environment for the flexible employment population.
In the challenging economic climate of Iran, men—often the primary breadwinners—are increasingly exposed to financial and psychological pressures. This situation can be accompanied by harms that need to be investigated. This study aimed to examine a model of the relationship between financial well-being, suicidality, and intimate partner violence (IPV), with an emphasis on the mediating role of defeat among Iranian men. This quantitative study employed a correlational design and structural equation modeling (SEM) method. A total of 385 married men residing in Karaj, Iran, voluntarily participated in the study in 2024 and completed the online research instruments. Data were collected using the InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale (IFDFW), Defeat Scale (DS), Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI), and Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS). Analyses were conducted using SPSS-26 and AMOS-24. The model indices indicated a good fit. The model showed that defeat was correlated with suicidal ideation (β = .484, p < .001) and IPV (β = .641, p < .001). Lower financial well-being was negatively correlated with suicidal ideation (β = .203, p < .001), IPV (β = .626, p < .001), and defeat (β = .364, p < .001). Furthermore, the indirect pathway showed that lower financial well-being was correlated with suicidal ideation (β = .145, p < .05) and IPV (β = .127, p < .05) through the mediation of defeat. According to the proposed conceptual model, defeat plays a key role in linking men’s financial conditions with psychological and interpersonal outcomes. Interventions aimed at reducing feelings of defeat, such as financial counseling, stress management programs, and psychosocial support, may help prevent suicidal ideation and IPV. These efforts can contribute not only to improving men’s mental health but also to the well-being of families and the broader community.
