Abstract
The tendency to live alone is a relatively recent phenomenon in Ecuador, but it is expanding rapidly. This study aims to identify factors associated with financial distress/well-being according to living situation (living alone vs. living with a partner) in Ecuadorian health workers. This study examined the construct of financial distress/well-being in a sample of 800 Ecuadorian health workers using cross-sectional data. Living situation was compared using generalized linear model analyses including income, age, children living at home, self-perception of health, depression, anxiety and stress, perceived social support, positive mental health, and hedonistic and austere profiles. Regarding financial well-being, workers living alone ranked lower and workers living with a partner ranked higher. In workers living alone the main sources of financial distress/well-being were income, children living at home, perceived social support, positive mental health, and hedonistic attitude towards indebtedness. In workers living with a partner the main sources of financial distress/well-being were income, age, self-perception of health, depression, anxiety and stress, perceived social support, positive mental health, and austere attitude towards indebtedness. Based on our results, we discuss potential public policy interventions that can be used to improve workers' financial well-being.
Highlights
A person’s overall subjective quality of life has become a subject of research for economists over the last four or five decades
Out of workers living alone, only 32.3% had children living at home; whereas workers living with a partner, 60.9% had children living at home
The model of InCharge Financial Distress/Financial Wellbeing Scale (IFDFW) generated for health workers living alone revealed significant independent relationships for income, children living at home, perceived social support, positive mental health, and hedonistic attitude towards indebtedness
Summary
A person’s overall subjective quality of life has become a subject of research for economists over the last four or five decades. According to Schimmack et al 1 quality of life includes two components: a cognitive component – or satisfaction with life – and an affective component – or subjective happiness. The current prevalence of single-person households in high income economies has no historical precedent, in the European Union (33%) and United States (28%) 3. Even reaching numbers where 60% of the households have only one person in cities like Stockholm (Sweden) or London (United Kingdom) 2. This trend is more recent in Latin America, influenced by the culture of the Latin American countries that tend to have a prejudicial attitude towards women that live alone – when they have no children at home. Cultural patterns in Ecuador have been changing and young adults have favored autonomy and independence to live alone when they feel they are able to support themselves 7
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