Debt Takes a Toll on the Mental Health of People

Researchers recently uncovered the impact of unsecured debts on a person's cognitive and emotional well being.

The study conducted by researchers at the University of Southampton in collaboration with a researcher from Kingston University reveals that people in debt are three times more likely to suffer from mental health problems compared to people who are not in any financial woes.

For decades Americans have drowned in debt mostly from credit card bills, student loans and mortgage debt.  Credit card debt statistics of an American Household for 2013 presented by nerdwallet says that the average credit card debt is $15, 185,  mortgage debt averages $147,133 alone and the average student loan debt is $31,509.

A meta analysis of previous studies involving 3,400 participants was done.

It was found that people in debt were three times more likely to suffer from mental problems.  Among the participants they noticed less than 9 percent of people with no mental health problems were in debt. And over a quarter of the study participants who were in debt had mental health problems.

Dr Thomas Richardson, Clinical Psychologist from the University of Southampton who led the research concluded, "This research shows a strong relationship between debt and mental health; however it is hard to say which causes which at this stage. It might be that debt leads to worse mental health due to the stress it causes. It may also be that those with mental health problems are more prone to debt because of other factors, such as erratic employment. Equally it might be that the relationship works both ways. For example people who are depressed may struggle to cope financially and get into debt, which then sends them deeper into depression. "

 A recent research from the University of Georgia revealed that during times of economic recession there was a 10 percent increase in the number of anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drug prescriptions in the Northeast regions of U.S. with one percentage point increase in unemployment.

The study researchers suggest the need for further analysis to know how exactly debt triggers poor mental health.

The results of the study are published online in Clinical Psychology Review.