This week, Mad in Americaexplores four new studies around financial stress and mental health. The first links financial stress to poor mental health in nursing students. The second finds that debt is strongly linked to anxiety, depression, and suicidality. The third finds that subjective financial well-being predicts loneliness, anxiety, and depression in young adults. The fourth links financial stressors to suicide in US veterans
Financial Stress Linked to Poor Mental Health
A new study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing finds that financial stress is linked to substantial negative effects on the well-being and mental health of nursing students. This research, led by Brandon W. Smith from the University of Wollongong in Australia, also reports that financial stress disproportionately impacts marginalized groups such as indigenous students and single mothers
The aim of this study was to investigate the link between financial stress and poor mental health in nursing students, thes of support. The authors used data from previous research to perform a narrative and thematic synthesis. Included studies had to examine the relationship between financial stress and mental health/well-being among nursing students. In total, the authors examined data from nine studies
Overall, financial stress was linked to emotional distress, reduced quality of life, and greater overall psychological burden. One included study from Hong Kong reported that 64.9% of nursing students experienced financial stress, with those reporting financial stress having significantly increased odds of symptoms of anxiety (2.252 time more likely) and depression (2.646). An Australian study reported similar results, with 61% of nursing students saying financial stress affected their mental health and often led to depression and exhaustion.
Students reported that financial stress came from many places, including nursing school costs and personal factors such as low income, family responsibilities, and childcare. Students reported increased financial stress during clinical placement as unpaid clinical hours took time away from paid work. Clinical placement also came with additional costs such as transportation and accommodation. This means during clinical placement nursing students had to simultaneously spend more while earning less.
Participants reported using many strategies to reduce financial stress such as working additional hours, moving in with family, and choosing clinical placements that were further away where cheaper accommodation was available. Often, these strategies shifted the burden rather than alletress, but left less time for studying and rest, which increased overall stress
The support available to nursing students commonly reduced immediate financial pressure but did not eliminate it. For example, borrowing money from friends and family could help with the immediate financial burden, but set up expectations for repayment in the future. Formal financial support, such as scholarships and grants, was available to 39% of students. Seventy percent of scholarships and 56% of University-based funds arrived one month or longer after clinical placement
The authors note that marginalized students were disproportionately affected by financial stress. These students also generally had less financial support available from friends and family and often experienced increased expectations to use their earnings to care for family
This study had two main limitations. Only studies published in English were included, significantly limiting generalizability to non-English speaking populations. The included studies used different methods, populations, and were applied to different contexts, further limiting generalizability
Debt is Strongly Linked to Poor Mental Health, but Not All Debt is Equal
A new study published in SSM – Population Health finds that debt is linked to anxiety, depression, and suicidality in US adults. This research, led by Kendra Rooney from the University of Iowa, also reports that some debt, particularly home mortgages, may protect against poor mental health in certain economic circumstances
The goal of this study was to examine the link between debt and anxiety, depression, and suicidality in US adults. The authors also wanted to investigate whether this relationship differs based on the type of debt. They performed a review of previous research to explore these connections. To be included in the current work, studies had to be peer reviewed, published in English between 1980 and 2024, use quantitative methods, include only US adults, and examine debt in relation to one of three outcomes: depression, anxiety, or suicidality. In total, the authors used data from 39 studies.
Thirty-six of 39 included studies found that debt was linked to poor mental health outcomes. The strongest body of evidence linked debt to symptoms of depression. There was also a strong relationship between debt and anxiety as well as suicidality. Unsecured debt was most strongly linked to poor mental health. Having multiple debts also strengthened this association
While debt overall was linked to depression, anxiety, and suicidality, the authors note that “debt” should not be treated as a single entity in relation to mental health. The type of debt, repayment conditions, and broader economic circumstances all had significant bearing on this relationship. This included three of 39 included studies that found some association between home mortgage debt and better overall mental health. Debt that resulted in financial strain, debt-collection pressure, reduced sense of control related to debts, and accumulation of multiple debts were the factors most linked to poorer mental health.
This study had three main limitations. Included studies used different methods, and measures of both debt and mental health, complicating generalizability. This research looked exclusively at studies published in English that examined US adults, further limiting genralizability to other populations. The design of included studies means the data can speak to links between debt and poor mental health, but cannot definitively say that debt causes poor mental health
Financial Well-Being Predicts Mental Health in Young Adults
A new study published in Mental Health & Prevention finds that lower perceived financial well-being predicted increases in depression and anxiety among young adults (18 – 29) in the US. This research, led by Daniel Siconolfi from the RAND Corporation, also finds that lower financial well-being was linked to greater loneliness
The goal of this research was to examine the effects of financial well-being on loneliness and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The authors also wanted to compare the effects of perceived debt and financial well-being on mental health outcomes (anxiety, depression, and loneliness)
The researchers used data from the CHOICE Project, a larger study that recruited a cohort of middle school aged participants from Southern California in 2009 and had them complete surveys once per year for 15 years. The authors of the current work used data from the 14th and 15th wave of the CHOICE project (2022 and 2023). Each participant answered surveys about loneliness and symptoms of anxiety and depression at both waves. During wave 14, participants also answered questions around perceived debt and financial well-being.
When examined independently, both perceived debt and financial well-being predicted greater loneliness and increasing symptoms of depression and anxiety in young adults from the US. However, when examined together, only financial well-being was an independent predictor of loneliness. This means the association between perceived debt and poor mental health was no longer significant when accounting for financial well-being
This study had several limitations. The data was collected from a cohort of young adults from Southern California, limiting generalizability to other populations. Some of the data collection coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic relief measures during the pandemic may have affected the results. This research relied on self-report measures, meaning the data may have been biased due to misreporting and reporting what is most socially acceptable rather than what is true. While this data links financial well-being to mental health outcomes, causation is not clear. Poor mental health could cause worse financial well-being or poor financial being may cause worse mental health.
Financial Stressors Linked to Suicide in US Veterans
A new study published in JAMA Open finds that financial stressors are linked to suicide in US veterans. This research, led by Eric B. Elbogen from Duke University in North Carolina, also finds that the link between financial stressors and suicide is stronger for veterans that had not accessed healthcare through Veterans Affairs (VA)
The goal of this study was to examine if verifiable financial stressors were linked to suicide in US veterans. The authors used data from 17,439 veterans including 4,993 who died by suicide. For the purposes of analysis, each veteran that died by suicide was matched with living controls that were similar in terms of age, sex, and VA healthcare enrollment. They evaluated financial stressors based on TransUnion credit records that included delinquent mortgage payments, repossessions, foreclosures, bankruptcy, overdue credit card payments, and change in credit score over a one year period. Financial stressors were measured one year prior to the date of suicide.
Overall, there was a strong association between financial stressors and suicide. Delinquent mortgage payments (40% more likely), repossessions (90%), foreclosures (20%), bankruptcies (10%), overdue credit card payments (70%), and poor credit (2.2 times more likely) were all associated with increased suicide risk. There was also a dose-response relationship between financial stressors and suicide, with one or two stressors linked to a 70% increased risk of suicide while three or more stressors were linked to a more than doubled (2.4 times more likely) suicide risk. The link between financial stressors and suicide was significantly weaker for veterans that had accessed healthcare through VA.
This study had several limitations. The study’s design means this data cannot speak to causes, only links, between financial stress and suicide. Unmeasured factors, such as interpersonal problems and other life stressors, could have contributed to the observed suicide rates. Credit records do not capture some financial stressors, such as informal debt, income instability, or subjective perception of financial stress. The sample was overwhelmingly male (94.6%) and limited to US veterans, significantly limiting generalizability to other populations.
Elbogen, E. B., Gilbert, T. A., DeBeer, B. B., Hooker, E. R., Shull, S., Kimbrel, N. A., Pogoda, T. K., Chen, J. I., & Carlson, K. F. (2026). Financial stressors and suicide. JAMA Network Open, 9(7). (Link)
Rooney, K., Addison, S. M., Hayes, L. E. G., Hodge, C., Carman, C., Wilson, A., & Conrad, A. (2026). A systematic review examining the relationship between debt and the mental health outcomes of anxiety, depression and suicidality within the United States. SSM – Population Health, 34, 101915. (Link)
Siconolfi, D., Tucker, J. S., Seelam, R., Troxel, W., & D’Amico, E. J. (2026). Money and the mind: Financial well-being, mental health, and loneliness in a large cohort of emerging adults. Mental Health & Prevention, 43, 200547. (Link)
Smith, B. W., Maneze, D., Ramjan, L. M., Stephen, C. M., Montayre, J., & Salamonson, Y. (2025). Impacts of financial stress on Mental Health and Wellbeing of Nursing Students: A systematic integrative review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 82(4), 2766–2789. (Link)
