Psychometric evaluation of the Financial Threat Scale (FTS) in the context of the great recession

► The FTS is short, unidimensional, reliable, and has good validity characteristics. ► It correlates with conceptually relevant situational and personality variables. ► It accounts for meaningful, unique variance in psychological health outcomes. In the current economic downturn, people are fearful,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of economic psychology 2013-06, Vol.36, p.1-10
Main Authors: Marjanovic, Zdravko, Greenglass, Esther R., Fiksenbaum, Lisa, Bell, Chris M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Canada
Economic conditions
Economic crisis
Economic psychology
Financial economics
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Individual differences
Mental health
Miscellaneous
Perceived threat
Personal finance
Personality psychology
Psychological effects
Psychological health
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Quantitative psychology
Recession
Recessions
Studies
Uncertainty
Validity
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Summary:► The FTS is short, unidimensional, reliable, and has good validity characteristics. ► It correlates with conceptually relevant situational and personality variables. ► It accounts for meaningful, unique variance in psychological health outcomes. In the current economic downturn, people are fearful, uncertain, and preoccupied about how the recession affects them, their loved ones, and their collective futures. In short, they feel threatened by the stability and security of their personal finances. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Financial Threat Scale (FTS), a 5-item scale which was designed to measure these feelings. Data were collected in Canada at the height of the recession as part of a larger international investigation on the economic downturn and psychological health. Results showed the FTS is unidimensional and highly reliable. The FTS’ validity was supported by showing its relations with (1) psychological health outcomes, financial situation measures, and individual differences measures, all in the expected directions. The FTS also showed incremental validity by accounting for variance in psychological health outcomes above-and-beyond that of either the financial situation measures or individual differences measures. The theoretical and practical implications of the FTS are discussed.
ISSN:0167-4870
1872-7719
DOI:10.1016/j.joep.2013.02.005