Multidimension of Financial Resilience and Its Association with Mental Health Outcomes Among Youth Living on the Uganda-Kenya Eastern Border

Background and Purpose: Financial resilience, defined as the ability to withstand and recover from financial setbacks, is increasingly recognized as a crucial factor influencing mental health outcomes. Particularly among transient populations, such as youth living in border regions, the dynamics of financial resilience can be complex due to the unique socio-economic challenges they face. These challenges include fluctuating economic conditions, limited access to consistent employment, and cross-border socio-political dynamics. The Uganda-Kenya Eastern Border provides a compelling context for studying these phenomena, given its significant youth population and the distinct economic and social environment characterizing the region. This study aims to explore the multidimensional aspects of financial resilience—such as economic resources, access to financial resources, financial knowledge and skills and social capital —and their association with mental health outcomes among the youth in this transient border area.

Methods: To address our first objective, we construct a multidimensional financial resilience index using the Alkire-Foster methodology. Our index employs 14 indicators of financial resilience grouped under four dimensions/domains of financial resilience (i.e., economic resources, access to financial resources, financial knowledge and skills and social capital). We used a dual cut-off of 0.5 to identify those who are financially resilient. The dependent variable of interest was depressive symptoms measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) (Cronbach’s α=0.91). and anxiety measured using the 2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-2) (Cronbach’s α=0.82). We estimated separate multiple regression models for depression and anxiety using ordinary least squares regression analysis.

Results: We found that 39% (n=186) of participants were financially resilient, and these were women (39.4%), young adults (43.3%) with postsecondary education (52.6%) and self-reported good health (32.3%). In regression analysis, controlling for living conditions, age, gender, self-reported health, education and employment, we found that financial resilience was associated with lower depressive (β =-0.11, SE=0.47, P<0.01), and anxiety symptoms (β =-0.15, SE=0.18, P<0.01). Self-reported good health was also associated with lower depressive (β =-0.01, SE=0.46, P<0.05) and anxiety symptoms (β =-0.90, SE=0.18, P<0.01).

Conclusion and Implications: Our findings underscore the significant role of financial resilience in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms among youth along the Uganda-Kenya border. Notably, financial resilience was more prevalent among participants with post-secondary education, good health, and among women, indicating that educational and health interventions are pivotal. These findings suggest the necessity of supporting educational advancements and health promotion programs as part of comprehensive strategies to enhance financial resilience and mental health. Efforts to improve financial literacy and access to financial resources could also be critical in mitigating mental health among youth in boarder communities.