Stress
Conditions
Keywords
Parenting Stress, Stress, Social Determinants, Socioeconomic status, Financial Coaching
Brief summary
The investigators have partnered with financial coaching organizations to establish what the investigators have termed a Medical-Financial Partnership (MFP) that offers financial coaching to improve financial and mental health. The investigators will evaluate the MFP's impact on family economic strain and parental stress.
Detailed description
Financial coaching is a new tool in the field of community development, but it has already demonstrated significant financial impact in a number of studies, including one randomized trial conducted by the Urban Institute. Financial coaching improves participant financial literacy, budgeting, saving for financial emergencies, and debt level. The investigators' project will help clinicians and the field of community economic development understand health and well-being through a new economic lens and assess the health-related impacts of the emerging field of financial coaching. The investigators have partnered with financial coaching organizations to establish what they have termed a Medical-Financial Partnership (MFP) that offers financial coaching to improve financial and mental health. The investigators will evaluate the MFP's impact on parental strain and stress. Community-based participants will be recruited from South Los Angeles and randomized to receive either monthly financial coaching plus access to referral for social services (intervention) or access to referral for social services alone (control). Inclusion criteria include having dependents under age 18, having some form of income, and having a tax identification number (social security number or Individual Tax Identification Number). Participants will be surveyed quarterly regarding their economic strain using the Family Economic Strain Scale and their individual stress using the Parenting Stress Index.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFinancial Coaching
Enrollment in one-to-one financial coaching intervention to support savings, income, and credit while reducing debt using available tools in the community development field.
BEHAVIORALReferral to Social Services
Sponsors
University of California, Los Angeles
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Participants will include caregivers and parents with one or more dependents, some form of income, and a tax identification number.
Exclusion criteria
* Inability to partake in the financial coaching or primary language other than English or Spanish.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Family Economic Strain | Up to one year (if possible) | Parents will be asked to assess the degree to which their economic circumstances impact their family functioning using the Family Economic Strain Scale |
| Parenting Stress | Up to one year (if possible) | Parents will be asked to quantify their parenting stress using the Parenting Stress Index |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed