The Shameful Debt: An Investigation of Shame, Sense of Connectedness  and Willingess to Seek Contact

Research on financial help-seeking behaviour has found shame to be one of the underlying components in help avoidance. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether increasing shame-resilience leads to an increased willingness to contact a creditor and to a reduced use of avoidant action tendencies. Additionally, the study examined whether men and women differ in their experience of financial shame. Participants (N = 133) were assigned to two conditions (shame-resilience and control condition) and they were asked to recall a negative financial situation. After this, the participants were shown an email from an imagined creditor, which asked them to be in contact with the creditor as soon as possible. In the control condition the communication style of the email was neutral whereas in the shame resilience condition the communication style aimed to induce a sense of connectedness with other people, who also share experiences of financial hardship. After the email, the...Show moreResearch on financial help-seeking behaviour has found shame to be one of the underlying components in help avoidance. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether increasing shame-resilience leads to an increased willingness to contact a creditor and to a reduced use of avoidant action tendencies. Additionally, the study examined whether men and women differ in their experience of financial shame. Participants (N = 133) were assigned to two conditions (shame-resilience and control condition) and they were asked to recall a negative financial situation. After this, the participants were shown an email from an imagined creditor, which asked them to be in contact with the creditor as soon as possible. In the control condition the communication style of the email was neutral whereas in the shame resilience condition the communication style aimed to induce a sense of connectedness with other people, who also share experiences of financial hardship. After the email, the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire that assessed their behavioural action tendencies regarding their situation. The intervention was found to significantly increase the participants’ willingness to contact the creditor and to significantly reduce a tendency to ignore a severity of the situation. However, no significant effects were found on a tendency to refuse to believe the situation or on a tendency to distract oneself with other activities. Also, no gender differences were found. The study provides valuable information on how to encourage people in financial hardship to take action to improve their financial situation.Show less

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The Shameful Debt: An Investigation of Shame, Sense of Connectedness and Willingess to Seek Contact