The Socioecological Psychology of Financial Debts: The Role of Residential Mobility

We examined individual, regional, and cultural differences in household debts and identified residential mobility as a key socioecological variable at multiple levels of analysis. Study 1 found that American households’ debt rates were higher than Japanese debt rates. Across 76 countries, household debts were higher in residentially mobile countries than those in residentially stable ones (Study 2). Next, across 144 U.S. cities, residents of residentially mobile cities had more credit card debts than those of residentially stable cities (Study 3). We further replicated the international and U.S. findings across 366 districts in India (Study 4). Study 5 found that American participants were more residentially mobile and more willing to borrow than Japanese participants, and the willingness to borrow was partly explained by the personal history of residential mobility. Study 6 found that residentially mobile individuals felt less indebtedness/gratitude than residentially stable individuals; the study also found how indebtedness/gratitude impacted individuals’ credit card debts and willingness to borrow.