Earning Too Little And Worrying Too Much: The Role Of Income And Financial Worries On Parents’ Well-Being In Hong Kong And Bangkok
Issued Date
2022-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
10580476
eISSN
15733475
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85138282178
Journal Title
Journal of Family and Economic Issues
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Family and Economic Issues (2022)
Suggested Citation
Gao X., Lee K., Permpoonputtana K., Plitponkarnpim A. Earning Too Little And Worrying Too Much: The Role Of Income And Financial Worries On Parents’ Well-Being In Hong Kong And Bangkok. Journal of Family and Economic Issues (2022). doi:10.1007/s10834-022-09863-y Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/84533
Title
Earning Too Little And Worrying Too Much: The Role Of Income And Financial Worries On Parents’ Well-Being In Hong Kong And Bangkok
Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Research has shown that financial worries are key determinants of parents’ well-being. However, less is known about the relative role of income and financial worries on parents’ well-being; especially from a cross-cultural perspective. Guided by need and aspiration theories, we examined the roles of income and financial worries on happiness and distress among parents from Hong Kong (N = 258) and Bangkok (N = 190). Bayesian structural equation modelling revealed that greater income and lower financial worries were correlated, on a bivariate level, with higher levels of happiness and lower levels of distress in both societies. However, regressing happiness on both income and financial worries shows that income is uniquely associated with happiness in Bangkok, but not in Hong Kong. Financial worries uniquely explained variance in distress in both societies. These findings suggest that income and financial worries play different roles in parents’ psychological well-being in the two cities. To promote parents’ well-being, future policy or intervention programs should target financial worries in Hong Kong. Targeting income and financial worries are more likely to be efficacious in Bangkok.