Debts and experienced financial scarcity: associations with nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidality in adolescents at risk for psychopathology

Abstract

Background: As adolescents transition to increased independence, they may also begin to encounter financial difficulties, including debt, which may contribute to psychological distress. While financial difficulties and experienced financial scarcity have been well-documented contributors to suicidality in adults, their impact on adolescent populations remains underexplored. The current study aims to elucidate the relationship between late adolescents' own debts or their experienced financial scarcity and the prevalence of self-harm, including both nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality (suicidal ideation/attempt). Methods: Data from the first follow-up measurement (T1) of a population-based high-risk cohort in the Netherlands were utilized. For the present study, adolescents (n = 650, mean age at T1 = 17.9 years) provided self-reported data on unsecured debts, experienced financial scarcity, NSSI and suicidality. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between these variables, adjusting for potential confounding factors, including individual, sociodemographic, and socioenvironmental influences. Results: The presence of unsecured debts was associated with an increased prevalence of suicidality (adjusted OR = 1.94, p =.046), but not with NSSI (p =.068). In contrast, greater experienced financial scarcity was associated with a higher prevalence of both NSSI (adjusted OR = 1.09, p =.004) and suicidality (adjusted OR = 1.15, p