Space,Context, and Human Capital: A Micro–Macro Perspective on the Social Environment and Financial Literacy in Later Life

Despite a large body of literature documenting the association between individual characteristics and financial literacy, our understanding of the impact of macro-environmental conditions on individual financial literacy remains limited, particularly in later life. Drawing from a micro–macro perspective on the social environment and individual processes, we examined the extent to which three state-level contextual characteristics were associated with individual financial literacy: tertiary educational attainment, poverty prevalence, and Internet penetration. We utilized data from the Understanding America Study for adults aged 50 years or older to assess financial literacy and data from the American Community Survey to evaluate contextual conditions. Cross-sectional multilevel regression models were used to examine the hypothesized effects. We found that state-level poverty prevalence was negatively associated with individual financial literacy, while state-level Internet penetration was positively associated with individual financial literacy, over and above individual characteristics known to impact financial literacy. No association was found between state-level educational attainment and individual financial literacy after controlling for respondents’ own education. Findings suggest that the social environment may condition older adults’ financial literacy through exposure to opportunities that promote knowledge acquisition. Interventions to enhance older adults’ financial literacy may benefit from targeted approaches that take into account the environmental characteristics of their locations of residence.

     

Hardship Among Older Adults in the HRS: Exploring Measurement Differences Across Socio-Demographic Characteristics

Measures of hardship have been proffered as better indicators of economic well-being than traditional measures of socioeconomic status (SES). However, there is a dearth of research on latent factor structures and measurement bias in items assessing hardship across socio-demographic characteristics, especially among older adults. As such, the purpose of this study was to determine the factor structure of items measuring hardship in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and to determine measurement bias across socio-demographic groups (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender, and age). The participants were HRS subjects who completed an additional psychosocial survey (N = 3074). The results revealed a single latent factor for hardship (comparative fit index = 0.99, root mean square error of approximation = 0.02) using confirmatory factor analysis on eight items in the HRS. The multiple indicator, multiple causes (MIMIC) model was used to determine measurement bias in the items due to socio-demographic characteristics. Compared to white respondents, black respondents were more likely to endorse items of financial dissatisfaction (Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.19, 95 % Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.43, 3.35), while Latino respondents were more likely to endorse food insecurity (OR = 2.78, 95 % CI = 1.60, 4.83); and older individuals (age 65 and older) were less likely to endorse having moved to a worse residence/neighborhood (OR = 0.32, CI = 0.18, 0.57) and being unemployed (OR = 0.28, CI = 0.20, 0.38). These results indicate that there is differential item functioning for specific measures of hardship suggesting that there are differences observed for the measurement of hardship for these items across racial/ethnic and age groups.     

Behavioral Escape Avoidance Coping in African-American Men Who Have Sex with Men

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate differences between African-American men who have sex with men (MSM) who use behavioral escape avoidance coping responses and those who do not. In particular, we investigated differences in the African-American MSM in our study on psychosocial factors such as internalized homonegativity, exploration phase sexual identity, and the importance of race/ethnicity identity to self-concept; and we investigated the association of these factors on the likelihood of the use of behavioral escape avoidance coping responses. Eighty-three African-American MSM completed our online assessment tool. Chi-square tests and modified Poisson regression were used to test our hypotheses. Our results revealed significant differences in the internalized homonegativity, exploration phase sexual identity, and in the importance of race/ethnicity identity to self-concept for the men in this study who endorsed behavioral escape avoidance coping responses compared to those who did not endorse behavioral escape avoidance coping responses.