Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin. School of Nursing, 1976. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.

Consumer debt is a growing phenomenon in the US and throughout the world. The beginning of the 21st century has been defined by such an incredible growth in consumer debt that American families have increased their debt relative to personal income four times faster than in the 1990s. Since the Federal Reserve began measuring the amount of American consumer debt and consumer income in the 1980s, consumer debt never exceeded consumer income until 2004 when it reached 104.8% of income. In the last two decades, researchers have observed a significant correlation between debt and mental health. The purpose of this thesis is to examine a comprehensive sample of previous quantitative research conducted on the relationship between debt and mental health. This thesis discusses the research in the following categories: 1) increased debt as a contributor to decreased mental health; 2) decreased mental health as a contributor to increased debt; 3) high correlation between debt and mental health risks.