Testing a model of financial well-being

This study was designed to empirically test a conceptual model and measurement of financial well-being as a function of (a) personal characteristics; (b) objective attributes, quantitative indicators of the financial domain and financial management behaviors of respondents; (c) perceived attributes, subjectively assessed life conditions and perceptions of financial situation; and (d) evaluations of financial situation using various reference points as standards of comparison. Two sub-problems were investigated in the study: (a) Which group of attributes, personal characteristics, objective attributes, perceived attributes, or evaluated attributes, significantly explains variance in perceived financial well-being?; and (b) Which individual attributes significantly explain variance in perceived financial well-being? A mail survey was conducted from October of 1989 through January of 1990 with a randomly selected sample of Virginia citizens (N = 1,500). After an initial mailing and two follow-up mailings, 529 questionnaires were returned of the 1,450 that were received by respondents, providing a 36.5% total return rate (529/1,450). Twenty-three questionnaires were blank or unusable, yielding a useable return rate of 34.9% (506/1,450). Demographic characteristics of the sample were similar to those of the population of Virginia citizens. Financial well-being, as measured by an adaptation of Cantril's (1965) 11-point self-anchoring striving scale, was the dependent variable. All of the independent variables regressed on the dependent variable produced an R 2 of .71, which was statistically significant (p < .01). Removing each group of attributes individually from the regression equation resulted in a significant (p < .01) decrease in the resulting adjusted R2s as computed by F ratios. All attribute groups were determined to be essential to the measurement of financial wellbeing. Individual variables with a significant t ratio (p < .05) were the Perceived Attribute Index, Index of Well-Being, and full-time employment status. The results of the study supported the conceptual model. Results clearly verified the measurement of financial well-being as a function of personal characteristics, objective attributes, perceived attributes, and evaluated attributes.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management

Department dc:contributor.department

Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1990

Author dc:creator

• Porter, Nancy M.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Garman, E. Thomas

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Littlefield, James E.
• Lytton, Ruth H.
• Scott, Elaine D.
• Wolfe, Lee M.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-10142005-135742

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/39899