The Role of Shame Resilience in Establishing Contact between Creditors and Debtors: Investigating the Impact of Shame Resilience Interventions on Debtors' Willingness to Contact Creditors

Over 600,000 households in the Netherlands are facing financial difficulties due to debt, which often causes feelings of shame and leads to avoiding creditors. This study looked at ways to help a debtor contact their respective creditor. The researchers wanted to see if increasing debtors’ resilience to shame would make them more willing to contact their creditors. Therefore, first of all, was hypothesized that increasing individuals’ sense of power and decreasing feelings of being trapped will result in a higher willingness to contact a creditor compared to the baseline condition. Additionally, there was hypothesized that the combined intervention condition, incorporating both enhanced power and reduced feelings of being trapped, would be more effective than either intervention alone. Finally, age was explored as a potential factor within the relationship between shame resilience and willingness. The researchers tested this by assigning participants (n = 267) randomly to one of...Show moreOver 600,000 households in the Netherlands are facing financial difficulties due to debt, which often causes feelings of shame and leads to avoiding creditors. This study looked at ways to help a debtor contact their respective creditor. The researchers wanted to see if increasing debtors’ resilience to shame would make them more willing to contact their creditors. Therefore, first of all, was hypothesized that increasing individuals’ sense of power and decreasing feelings of being trapped will result in a higher willingness to contact a creditor compared to the baseline condition. Additionally, there was hypothesized that the combined intervention condition, incorporating both enhanced power and reduced feelings of being trapped, would be more effective than either intervention alone. Finally, age was explored as a potential factor within the relationship between shame resilience and willingness. The researchers tested this by assigning participants (n = 267) randomly to one of four groups: baseline, power, feeling trapped, or a combined intervention. In each condition, participants received a tailored creditor email designed to elicit feelings of increased power, reduced feelings of being trapped, or a combination of both. In contrast, the baseline condition involved a standard creditor email. Subsequently, participants were asked to indicate their willingness to initiate contact with the creditor agency. The results showed that increasing people's sense of power and reducing feelings of being trapped led to a greater willingness to contact creditors compared to the baseline group. However, the combined intervention did not have a greater effect than the separate interventions. Overall, the findings suggest that increasing people's sense of power and reducing feelings of being trapped can enhance their resilience to shame and increase their willingness to contact creditors to address financial issues.Show less

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The Role of Shame Resilience in Establishing Contact between Creditors and Debtors: Investigating the Impact of Shame Resilience Interventions on Debtors' Willingness to Contact Creditors