The consequences of the perceived impact of the Spanish economic crisis on subjective well-being: The explanatory role of personal uncertainty

Drawing on recent research indicating that subjective economic experiences allow for determining the differences in individuals’ health outcomes, the present research tested in the Spanish population the hypothesis that a higher perceived impact of the current economic crisis is related to lower levels of subjective well-being and self-perceived health. In Study 1, participants who feel more affected by this economic downturn reported decreased subjective well-being and self-perceived health, even after controlling for gender, age, and objective and subjective socioeconomic status. Study 2 replicated this pattern of results and extended it to other (negative) health indicators (i.e., psychosomatic symptomatology, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction, and depression), controlling also for participants’ employment status. In addition, the results of this study demonstrated that the perceived impact-subjective well-being/health relationship was mediated by personal uncertainty. Finally, Study 3, using an experimental paradigm, showed that the salience of the crisis-related economic threat led to a higher negative affect compared with the control condition. Moreover, the results of this study indicated that such an effect was mediated by state-uncertainty. These findings contribute to expanding the psychological literature on the economic crises’ implications by suggesting that people’s perceptions of the crisis could affect their well-being and health above and beyond their own objective material circumstances.