Health, wealth, and happiness: financial resources buffer subjective well-being after the onset of a disability.
We examined the hypothesis that the relationship between financial status and subjective well-being, typically found to be very small in cross-sectional studies, is moderated by health status. Specifically, we predicted that wealth would buffer well-being after the onset of a disability. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study of people at and approaching retirement age, we employed within-subjects analyses to test whether wealth measured prior to the onset of a disability protected participants' well-being from some of the negative effects of a new disability. We found support for this hypothesis: Participants who were above the median in total net worth reported a much smaller decline in well-being after a new disability than did participants who were below the median. We also found some evidence that the buffering effect of wealth faded with time, as below-median participants recovered some of their well-being.
Smith
Dylan M
DM
VA Health Services Research & Development Center of Excellence, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. dysmith@umich.edu
Langa
Kenneth M
KM
Kabeto
Mohammed U
MU
Ubel
Peter A
PA
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006240:Happiness; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors