Social Determinants of Health and Desirable Financial Behaviors

The Mediation Effect of Financial Knowledge

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused people to change their positive and negative financial behaviors. Social determinants of health (SDH) include several conditions in a person’s environment, e.g., economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context. This research aims to investigate how SDH is related to desirable financial behaviors while considering financial knowledge as the mediation variable, using data collected in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social cognitive theory (SCT) was used to develop the theoretical framework. The results of this study indicate that economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, and social and community context are positively associated with desirable financial behaviors. Further, financial knowledge plays a significant role in mediating the relationships between social determinants of health and desirable financial behaviors. This article provides implications on the effect of SDH on financial behaviors, underscoring the relevance of applying the SCT framework to examine the interplay between social factors and financial behaviors. The discussion and implication section of this study provides strategic direction to enhancing financial behaviors through the improvement of SDH and financial knowledge.