Cai Yunchao
School of Economics and Management, Ankang University, Ankang, Shaanxi, China.
Front Public Health. 2025 May 7;13:1563297. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1563297. eCollection 2025.
Despite the growing challenges associated with household debt, research on factors influencing its relationship with psychological well-being remains limited. This study investigates the role of financial literacy in the nexus between household indebtedness and mental health, addressing a significant gap in the literature.
Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2014 wave, a nationally representative dataset, we analyze how financial literacy interacts with household debt and mental health outcomes. Multiple model specifications are employed to assess the moderating and mediating effects of financial literacy.
Our findings reveal two key roles of financial literacy: (1) it improves mental health by reducing household indebtedness, and (2) it moderates the negative relationship between debt and mental health. Notably, basic financial literacy is a critical factor, particularly in explaining the effects of non-housing debt (as opposed to housing debt).
The study highlights the dual function of financial literacy in mitigating the adverse psychological effects of household debt. Policymakers and financial educators should consider promoting financial literacy as a tool to enhance mental health, especially in contexts of high indebtedness. Future research could explore additional mediators and cultural variations in this relationship.
尽管与家庭债务相关的挑战日益增加，但关于影响其与心理健康关系的因素的研究仍然有限。本研究调查了金融知识在家庭债务与心理健康之间的关系中所起的作用，填补了文献中的一个重大空白。
利用2014年中国家庭追踪调查（CFPS）的数据，这是一个具有全国代表性的数据集，我们分析了金融知识如何与家庭债务和心理健康结果相互作用。采用多种模型设定来评估金融知识的调节和中介作用。
我们的研究结果揭示了金融知识的两个关键作用：（1）它通过减少家庭债务来改善心理健康，（2）它缓和了债务与心理健康之间的负相关关系。值得注意的是，基础金融知识是一个关键因素，特别是在解释非住房债务（相对于住房债务）的影响方面。
该研究强调了金融知识在减轻家庭债务的不良心理影响方面的双重作用。政策制定者和金融教育工作者应考虑将提高金融知识作为增强心理健康的一种工具，特别是在高负债的情况下。未来的研究可以探索这种关系中的其他中介因素和文化差异。
