Coping and financial strain as predictors of mental illness in over‐ indebted individuals in Sweden

This cross‐sectional study examined psychological mechanisms in order to increase knowledge regarding mental illness amongst 561 over‐indebted individuals in Sweden. Differences were explored between individuals with probable clinical depression and/or anxiety and individuals without probable clinical depression and/or anxiety, considering objective measures of the debt, financial strain, coping strategies as well as sociodemographic variables. Furthermore, binary logistic regression analyses were performed in order to construct a model of predictors of mental illness. In order to collect the data, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE_, as well as questions formulated by the research team, were used as measures. Prominent results showed that over‐indebted individuals with probable clinical depression and/or anxiety were younger, showed greater levels of financial strain, used adaptive coping strategies to a lesser extent, and maladaptive coping strategies to a greater extent. Additionally, financial strain, use of maladaptive and emotion‐focused coping, age and employment status were significant predictors of mental illness. These results put emphasis on the importance of adaptive coping as well as the psychological exposure of over‐indebted individuals.