Mindfulness in the Face of Uncertainty: An Opportunity to Enhance Financial Well-Being

Background and Purpose:  Mindfulness, often associated with meditation techniques, is also associated with the adoption of specific values and attitudes.  These include living a focused and planful lifestyle while reducing or eliminating barriers.  Mindfulness may demonstrate useful within the financial capability context, as awareness, attention, and accepting attitudes may result in a reduction in impulsive financial behaviors.  Intolerance of uncertainty, a key component of worry and anxiety, may serve as a detractor from financial well-being.  Behavioral economic theory posits an association between financial uncertainty and poor decision-making.  As a field interested in enhancing financial capability, social work should have an increased understanding of economic attitudes and financial well-being.  The current study explores the relationship between mindfulness, uncertainty, and financial well-being.

Methods: A web-based instrument was administered to faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students in schools of social work across one state (N = 201).  Most respondents 91%, were female (n = 183) and had a mean age of 30 years old.  The majority, 69.7%, were African-American (n = 140), followed by White (23.5%, n = 47), Native American (2.0%, n = 4), and Other (3.5%, n = 7). Nearly 8% of respondents had completed high school (n = 15), 31.3% had completed some college (n = 63), 38.8% had completed college (n = 78), 18.4% of respondents had completed graduate school (n = 37), and 4% of respondents had completed some other level of education (n = 8).

Multivariate regression techniques were used to analyze the predictive value of intolerance of uncertainty and a proclivity towards mindfulness on financial well-being.  Via the survey instrument, uncertainty was measured utilizing the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), a proclivity towards mindfulness was examined utilizing the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS-R), and financial well-being was assessed via the CFPB Financial Well-Being measure.

Results: A regression analysis was statistically significant (F_(5,194) = 6.75, p < .00) with an R² of .15.  Intolerance of uncertainty (t = -3.39, p = .00, 95% CI: -.54, -.14) and mindfulness (t = 3.24, p = .00, 95% CI: .27, 1.10) were statistically significant predictors of financial well-being.  For every one point increase in IUS scores, we would expect a .34 decrease in CFPB Financial Well-Being scores, and for every one point increase in CAMS-R scores, we would expect a .69 increase in CFPB Financial Well-Being scores, controlling for other variables in the model.  Demographic predictors were not statistically significant.

Conclusions and Implications:  Results indicate that those individuals with a proclivity towards mindfulness and an ability to tolerate economic uncertainty may have greater control over their