The lack of contact between a debtor and creditor has been identified as a big problem in overcoming financial stress and debt. This study aimed to investigate whether inducing control results in...Show moreThe lack of contact between a debtor and creditor has been identified as a big problem in overcoming financial stress and debt. This study aimed to investigate whether inducing control results in greater willingness to contact creditors. Furthermore, financial self-efficacy was investigated as a moderator of this relationship. A total of 134 participants were assigned to either an induced control group or a baseline group. The participants were asked to recall a negative financial experience and were then presented with a fictional letter from an imaginary creditor, urging them to contact the creditor as soon as possible. The creditor letter was left unchanged from a standard creditor letter in the baseline group, while in the control group, the letter offered two possibilities to help repay outstanding debt. After reading the letter, participants were asked if they would be willing to contact the creditor. The study found that there was a significant difference in the participants' willingness to contact creditors. However, financial self-efficacy was not found to be a significant moderator. The present study provides additional support to previous findings that increasing perceived control led to a higher willingness to contact in the context of financial hardship.Show less
This research focuses on the willingness of people who experience(d) debt to contact their creditor and the role of the shame resilience theory, with two main components (feeling trapped and...Show moreThis research focuses on the willingness of people who experience(d) debt to contact their creditor and the role of the shame resilience theory, with two main components (feeling trapped and isolated and feeling powerless). The study had four different conditions and corresponding creditor letters. The first hypothesis was that reducing feeling trapped and isolated leads to more willingness to contact compared to baseline (H1). The second hypothesis was that inducing power leads to more willingness to contact compared to baseline (H2). Results showed that both conditions scored significantly higher on willingness to contact compared to the baseline condition. We explored if the combined condition leads to more willingness to contact compared to the reduced feeling trapped condition (Exploration analysis 1). Secondly, we explored if the combined condition scored higher on willingness to contact compared to the induced power condition (Exploration analysis 2). Results showed that the combined intervention was no more effective than a single intervention.Show less
The study aims to investigate whether applying the shame-resilience theory (SRT) could increase debtors’ willingness to contact their creditors (Brown, 2006). Shame is associated with two elements:...Show moreThe study aims to investigate whether applying the shame-resilience theory (SRT) could increase debtors’ willingness to contact their creditors (Brown, 2006). Shame is associated with two elements: powerlessness and being trapped. Feelings of being trapped occur when debtors feel that they have failed to adhere to societal norms due to a lack of alternatives (Frye, 2001). Powerlessness occurs when debtors experience a lack of control. We hypothesized that, by reducing the feelings associated with shame, powerlessness and being trapped, could lead to an increase in the debtors’ willingness to contact (WTC). The data was gathered through an online survey from 182 participants who were divided into four conditions; control, power, trapped and combined. The results provided evidence that reducing the feeling of powerlessness leads to an increase in debtors' willingness to contact. However, reducing the feelings of being trapped or a combined reduction did not produce similar results.Show less
This study aimed to explore possible implications to tackle obstacles that prevent people from contacting their creditors when facing financial hardship. It is found that people living in poverty...Show moreThis study aimed to explore possible implications to tackle obstacles that prevent people from contacting their creditors when facing financial hardship. It is found that people living in poverty often do not use the available help, leaving them with social withdrawal. We identified two possible reasons for the problem. The first is the experienced shame, the second is the perceived control. This study, therefore, examined the effect of experienced shame and perceived control on behavioral tendencies. Specifically, it investigated whether addressing shame and inducing control in a negative financial situation has an impact on willingness to contact one’s creditor. To test our hypothesis, an online study was distributed to people who experience or have experienced financial hardship. Results showed no increase in willingness to contact when shame was addressed. An increase in willingness to contact was found when control was induced. Exploratively, it was found that addressing shame and inducing control combined increased a person’s willingness to contact. The results indicated that control had a positive effect on the relation between shame and avoidant tendencies. Finally, this study discusses the theoretical and practical implications, along with its limitations and directions for future research.Show less
Currently, a lot of people are living in debt, in fact in some developed countries, the amount of people holding debt can be as high as 80%. This debt can lead holders to face financial hardship...Show moreCurrently, a lot of people are living in debt, in fact in some developed countries, the amount of people holding debt can be as high as 80%. This debt can lead holders to face financial hardship and with this often arrives both physical and mental health consequences. Previous research has been promising in examining how an increase in perceived control can be related to both self-management and higher satisfaction. Control has also been found to have links to ones coping behaviors. Thus, an experiment was created in which we looked to see whether an increase in perceived control had an effect on participants overall willingness to contact a creditor, accept financial help, and their coping behaviors. This was done through the use of an experiment involving two creditor letters, in one participants perceived control was manipulated, while the other letter served as the control. In line with our predictions and previous literature those in the manipulation group did show higher willingness to contact and used more problem focused coping, however, there were not significantly differences in scores on avoidant tendencies.Show less
People in a negative financial situation do not seek out or accept help to solve their debt. With the help of inducing control and increasing shame resilience, we take a look at willingness to...Show morePeople in a negative financial situation do not seek out or accept help to solve their debt. With the help of inducing control and increasing shame resilience, we take a look at willingness to contact, perceived control, and problem-focussed coping based on The Transactional Theories of Stress and Coping and Shame Resilience Theory. With a creditor letter, we manipulated induced control, shame resilience, and both, and compared them to the control condition without manipulation. Our results show that with inducing control and increasing shame resilience, we can effectively reach the people in debt and possibly change their situation around by increasing willingness to contact and perceived control.Show less
Negative financial situations such as debt or poverty affect the individual on the material level, as well as on the perceptions of the self, inducing social and mental health struggles....Show moreNegative financial situations such as debt or poverty affect the individual on the material level, as well as on the perceptions of the self, inducing social and mental health struggles. Financially dire situations can result in feelings of shame, impacting the chances of the individual reaching our for help. We investigate whether inducing shame resilience in people facing debt can increase the willingness to contact a creditor for financial help. Hypothesizing that shame resilience and a sense of belongingness can increase this willingness to contact, we conducted an online survey and measured recall in two conditions: the manipulation condition where a creditor email primes shame resilience, and a control condition consisting of a standard email, then we measured the willingness to contact the creditor company in each group. The results showed that after reading the manipulation condition email which gave reassurance about feeling shameful for one’s financial situation, participants were more likely to contact the company for financial help compared to the control condition. These significant results suggest that working towards building shame resilience can be a great tool to utilize in future research where the relationship between shame and seeking out financial help is measured.Show less
Research indicates that financial hardship is often accompanied by feelings of shame which in general leads to individuals to showing avoidance behavior. Particularly, individuals experiencing...Show moreResearch indicates that financial hardship is often accompanied by feelings of shame which in general leads to individuals to showing avoidance behavior. Particularly, individuals experiencing financial shame oftentimes partake into avoidance behavior when it comes to financial support. This study aimed to investigate whether shame resilience increases the willingness to contact a creditor and whether shame resilience decreases avoidance action tendencies of individuals experiencing financial hardship. A between-subject design was implemented whereat participants in the shame resilience group (N = 64) were compared to participants in the control group (N = 69). Within an online experiment, the randomly assigned participants recalled a financial hardship experience, read one out of two creditor letters, and were presented with several Likert-scale questions. Participants in the shame resilience group reported higher levels of a willingness to contact compared to the participants in the control group. Regarding the voidance action tendencies, three items were analysed separately due to a low reliability. No differences were found on refuse action and distract action tendencies between the participants in both groups. However, participants in the shame resilience group reported lower levels of ignore action tendencies compared to the participants in the control group. Potential explanations for this, additional findings, strengths, and limitations are discussed and implications for future research are proposed.Show less
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...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
Many individuals in financial hardship feel ashamed of their economic situation. Existing literature suggests that feelings of shame can lead individuals to exhibit avoidant behaviours, such as...Show moreMany individuals in financial hardship feel ashamed of their economic situation. Existing literature suggests that feelings of shame can lead individuals to exhibit avoidant behaviours, such as social withdrawal, which prevent them from taking steps to solve their difficult situation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether promoting shame resilience in individuals with financial problems leads to more willingness to contact their creditor. We also explored if experienced shame is a mediator in this relationship and whether shame resilience would lead to a reduction in avoidant action tendencies. 133 participants with financial hardship experience completed a survey on an online platform in which the intervention of shame resilience was promoted by inducing a sense of belongingness through the content and communication tone of a creditor email. We found that promoting shame resilience led to a higher willingness to contact the creditor and a lower tendency to ignore the severity of the situation. Other measures of avoidant action tendencies, such as refusing to believe one has debt and turning to other activities as a distraction, were not found to be significantly affected by shame resilience. Only one aspect of experienced shame, the feeling of worthiness, was found to mediate the effect of experienced shame on willingness to contact. The findings offer a feasible intervention that may prove to be effective in helping individuals take on a problem-solving approach to their financial hardship and come one step closer to settling their debt.Show less
Individuals can experience financial difficulties which tend to have negative psycho-socio-behavioural consequences. They feel shame and are avoidant regarding their financial situation rather than...Show moreIndividuals can experience financial difficulties which tend to have negative psycho-socio-behavioural consequences. They feel shame and are avoidant regarding their financial situation rather than reaching out for help or proactively dealing with the root of their problem. To what extent does inducing shame resilience decreases the avoidant tendencies and increases the willingness to contact the creditor for individuals with financial hardships? This research proposes that by increasing shame resilience, avoidant tendencies can decrease, and participant’s willingness to contact increases. Shame resilience represents the ability to identify shame when it is experienced and move past it in a constructive manner allowing the individual to maintain authenticity and grow from such experiences. Participants were recruited online and were asked to recall a negative financial situation. They were randomly assigned to a creditor letter in which the communication style differed. There was a control letter and a shame resilience letter from a creditor. As predicted, participants in the shame resilience condition were more willing to contact the creditor compared to the control condition. The results revealed no significant difference between the shame resilience and the control group on avoidant tendencies. Therefore, by using different communication in the letters, participants were more willing to contact compared to the control condition.Show less
People who are experiencing financial hardship often feel ashamed about their financial situation. This experienced shame prevents them from seeking contact with their creditor. A way to cope with...Show morePeople who are experiencing financial hardship often feel ashamed about their financial situation. This experienced shame prevents them from seeking contact with their creditor. A way to cope with this experienced shame is to build shame resilience. We built on shame resilience theory (Brown, 2006) by focusing on two elements: fostering connectedness and addressing shame. Participants were randomly assigned to the control condition or to the shame-resilience condition. In the control condition, participants read a standard creditor email. In the shame resilience condition, participants read an email that fostered connectedness and addressed shame. Our shame resilience email didn’t lead to a significant higher willingness to contact the helping organization or a decrease in avoidant tendencies. Our shame resilience email did lead to a significant decrease in shame. A practical implication of this is that we found a way to approach people experiencing (financial) shame, in order to reduce their shame.Show less
Financial scarcity raises negative consequences on individual and societal level. Much help is offered, but many people do not seek help. The goal of this research is to test whether an...Show moreFinancial scarcity raises negative consequences on individual and societal level. Much help is offered, but many people do not seek help. The goal of this research is to test whether an intervention designed to increase perceived financial self-efficacy increases the likelihood that people with financial problems take appropriate action. It is hypothesized that participants who are presented with a self-efficacy heightening website of an organisation that offers them financial help, perceive this organisation as more positive, are more likely to contact the organisation, and handle their situation more constructively (Hypothesis 1a, 1b, and 1c). It is expected that these effects are stronger when participants experience less control (Hypothesis 2a, 2b, and 2c). Results support hypothesis 1c and partly support hypothesis 2a: participants in the experimental condition rated the organisation as warmer, the lower they scored on self-efficacy, but not as more moral and competent. The other hypotheses were not supported.Show less
