Financial assets and mental health over time

Abstract

Financial, material, and social assets are core drivers of access to salutary resources. However, there is a paucity of research about how non-income financial assets shape mental health. We explore the relation of financial assets with symptoms of depression and of anxiety using a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of U.S. adults fielded annually from 2020 to 2023 (n = 1,296 unique participants). We used multivariable logistic regression models to estimate the association of financial assets and financial stress separately and together with symptoms of depression (PHQ-9 > 9), anxiety (GAD-7 > 9), and their co-occurrence, controlling for demographic indicators and year fixed effects. We found, first, that adults with <$5,000 in accrued financial assets reported over two times the odds of positive screen for depression, anxiety, and co-occurring depression and anxiety, respectively, as adults with ≥$100,000 in financial assets. Second, when controlling for accrued financial assets, annual household income was not associated with symptoms of anxiety. Third, the gap in positive screen for depression between household financial assets groups stayed consistent and did not differ significantly over the study period. Annual income alone does not capture the influence of all financial assets on mental health.