Overindebtedness motivations and self-perceptions of social status

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship of self-Perception of Social Status and the decision-making processes in credit acquisition and indebtedness. We have used a questionnaire specifically designed for this purpose, using several elements from Gathergood (2012) and Adler & Stewart (2007) questionnaires. The survey includes 317 individuals that filled in the questionnaire, the majority living in the Greater Porto area. We tested four hypotheses: (i) individuals who reported a lower self-perceived social status; (ii) with a lower academic qualification; (iii) female and (iv) younger people would present higher levels of indebtedness. To validate these hypotheses, we have used bivariate analysis and logit regression. The results seem to indicate that self-perceived social status plays a significant role in the process of indebtedness also being related to over indebtedness. Of the remaining variables, only gender did not have an association with indebtedness.

Overindebtedness motivations and self-perceptions of social status Conference Paper