Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The Great Recession in 2008 was a period of severe economic upheaval and myriad financial stressors. Financial stress is associated with poorer health, but for whom is this stress the most health-relevant? The current study examined the association between financial stressors and mortality, as well as whether this association varied based on people's financial status. METHODS: Participants from the Midlife in the United States study (n = 2760) were assessed before (2004-2005) and after (2013-2014) the Great Recession (2008). Mortality status was then tracked from 2013 to 2017. RESULTS: People who experienced more financial stressors during the Great Recession were at greater risk of early mortality over the 4-year follow-up (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.14 [1.00-1.29], p = .046). This association was moderated by the importance of financial security (B = 0.34 [0.08-0.59], p = .009). Financial stressors were more strongly associated with mortality among people who reported that financial security was important to their well-being (HR = 1.29 [1.08-1.54], p = .006) compared with people who reported it was not (HR = 1.02 [0.82-1.26], p = .89). Household income and subjective financial status did not moderate the association between financial stressors and mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Experiencing financial stressors during the Great Recession was associated with increased mortality over the 4-year follow-up period, particularly for people who reported financial security was important to their well-being. Interventions designed to reduce financial stress to improve health may benefit from targeting people for whom such stressors are particularly important.