Trends in financial satisfaction: does poverty make a difference?
Gerontological studies on financial satisfaction have been limited by the dearth of longitudinal research and the lack of research that includes the concept of poverty. In order to bridge these gaps, this longitudinal study examines and compares the intracohort and intercohort effects on financial satisfaction trends by poverty status among Americans age 45 and above, using data from the General Social Surveys. The results suggest that for both the poor and the non-poor, changes in financial satisfaction trends are mostly due to strong negative intercohort effects, indicating that younger cohorts are less satisfied financially than the older ones. There appears to be a significant difference in the intercohort effects of financial satisfaction trends between the poor and the non-poor. However, such difference can be accounted for by the differences in the effects of education and social comparison (or relative deprivation) on financial satisfaction between the poor and the non-poor.
Hsieh
Chang-Ming
CM
Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60607-7134, USA.
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005382:Financing, Personal; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017059:Models, Econometric; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011203:Poverty; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D012923:Social Class; D014481:United States