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Health, wealth, and happiness: financial resources buffer subjective well-being after the onset of a disability.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Smith, DM; Langa, KM; Kabeto, MU; Ubel, PA
Published in: Psychological science
September 2005

We examined the hypothesis that the relationship between financial status and subjective well-being, typically found to be very small in cross-sectional studies, is moderated by health status. Specifically, we predicted that wealth would buffer well-being after the onset of a disability. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study of people at and approaching retirement age, we employed within-subjects analyses to test whether wealth measured prior to the onset of a disability protected participants' well-being from some of the negative effects of a new disability. We found support for this hypothesis: Participants who were above the median in total net worth reported a much smaller decline in well-being after a new disability than did participants who were below the median. We also found some evidence that the buffering effect of wealth faded with time, as below-median participants recovered some of their well-being.

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Published In

Psychological science

DOI

EISSN

1467-9280

ISSN

0956-7976

Publication Date

September 2005

Volume

16

Issue

9

Start / End Page

663 / 666

Related Subject Headings

  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Quality of Life
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Status
  • Happiness
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology
 

Citation

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Smith, D. M., Langa, K. M., Kabeto, M. U., & Ubel, P. A. (2005). Health, wealth, and happiness: financial resources buffer subjective well-being after the onset of a disability. Psychological Science, 16(9), 663–666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01592.x
Smith, Dylan M., Kenneth M. Langa, Mohammed U. Kabeto, and Peter A. Ubel. “Health, wealth, and happiness: financial resources buffer subjective well-being after the onset of a disability.Psychological Science 16, no. 9 (September 2005): 663–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01592.x.
Smith DM, Langa KM, Kabeto MU, Ubel PA. Health, wealth, and happiness: financial resources buffer subjective well-being after the onset of a disability. Psychological science. 2005 Sep;16(9):663–6.
Smith, Dylan M., et al. “Health, wealth, and happiness: financial resources buffer subjective well-being after the onset of a disability.Psychological Science, vol. 16, no. 9, Sept. 2005, pp. 663–66. Epmc, doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01592.x.
Smith DM, Langa KM, Kabeto MU, Ubel PA. Health, wealth, and happiness: financial resources buffer subjective well-being after the onset of a disability. Psychological science. 2005 Sep;16(9):663–666.
Journal cover image

Published In

Psychological science

DOI

EISSN

1467-9280

ISSN

0956-7976

Publication Date

September 2005

Volume

16

Issue

9

Start / End Page

663 / 666

Related Subject Headings

  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Quality of Life
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Status
  • Happiness
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Female
  • Experimental Psychology