Struggling in silence: The relationship  between debt-help acceptance and the need for autonomy

Over half of all households in the UK experienced some type of debt between 2016 to 2018. Being in debt can pose a serious threat to wellbeing. Many of these households are not able to get out of debt by themselves. However, many of these households also do not accept the help, often existing of free debt-advice, that is provided to them. Literature from domains such as education suggest that people might not accept help due to their autonomy being limited. This thesis looked into whether this was also the case for the domain of debt. Respondents were asked to fill out a questionnaire, existing of an implicit measure of autonomy and a hypothetical debt letter. After receiving the letter, participants were asked how likely they would be to accept the help (free debt-advice) offered in the debt letter. Surprisingly, many of the participants accepted the help, leading to the rejection of our hypothesis that the need for autonomy could predict help acceptance. The results showed that...Show moreOver half of all households in the UK experienced some type of debt between 2016 to 2018. Being in debt can pose a serious threat to wellbeing. Many of these households are not able to get out of debt by themselves. However, many of these households also do not accept the help, often existing of free debt-advice, that is provided to them. Literature from domains such as education suggest that people might not accept help due to their autonomy being limited. This thesis looked into whether this was also the case for the domain of debt. Respondents were asked to fill out a questionnaire, existing of an implicit measure of autonomy and a hypothetical debt letter. After receiving the letter, participants were asked how likely they would be to accept the help (free debt-advice) offered in the debt letter. Surprisingly, many of the participants accepted the help, leading to the rejection of our hypothesis that the need for autonomy could predict help acceptance. The results showed that there was no relationship between the need for autonomy and help acceptance. A possible reason for this finding could be that in the domain of debt, a different barrier against help acceptance, like shame or stigma, is at play.Show less

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Struggling in silence: The relationship between debt-help acceptance and the need for autonomy