Your money or your life: Behavioral and emotional predictors of money pathology

This study sought to examine self-reported emotional and behavioral correla tes of money pathology, defined as inappropriate behavior with respect to m oney and associated material goods. In all, 267 British adult subjects comp leted a battery of questionnaires including Rubinstein's (1981) extensive P sychology Today survey on money and Forman's ipsative measures that describ e five. Money Pathology Scales (miser, spendthrift, tycoon, bargain hunter, gambler), an overall pathology scale combining the five and his short mone ysanity measure:. The former measure was factor analyzed and selected facto r scores regressed on to the moneysanity measure along with demographic mea sures in order to al:tempt to establish which individual difference factors best predicted the different: types of money pathology. Thus females were more extravagant, prone to depression, but less likely to take moral risks for money, while richer, more right-wing people tended to be more materiali stic. Those with overall less "money sanity" tended more to believe luck an d dishonesty were more important in making money; were self-denying and eco nomically pessimistic, and had powerful negative emotions like anger and an xiety around money. Multiple regressions on to the money types showed that between 15 and 30% of the variance could be explained and accounted for, by the selected independent variables (demographic, religious and political b elief, illness, and more general attitudes toward wealth). Demographic vari ables like age, and negative emotions about money were consistent predictor s of money pathology. Results are discussed in terms of the small, but grow ing literature on the psychology of money (Furnham, 1997; Furnham & Argyle, 1998).