Parallel mediation analysis of household income and impression management with financial scarcity on materialism

Figures & data

Figure 1. Hypothesized parallel mediation effects on materialism.

Hypothesized model of financial scarcity on materialism with parallel mediators hoursehold income and impression management.

Table 1. Demographic frequencies and percentages.

Demographic	Frequency	Percentage
Gender
Male	436	49.4
Female	446	50.6
Household Income
Less than $10,000	43	4.9
$10,000–19,999	45	5.1
$20,000–29,999	72	8.2
$30,000–39,999	88	10.0
$40,000–49,999	90	10.2
$50,000–59,999	77	8.7
$60,000–69,999	75	8.5
$70,000–79,999	86	9.7
$80,000–89,999	58	6.6
$90,000–99,999	59	6.7
$100,000 and over	189	21.4
Homeownership
Homeowner	453	51.4
Renter/other	429	48.6

Figure 2. Hypothesized parallel mediation effects on materialism.

Notes: Covariates included gender, household size, and homeownership.

*p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001, ****p<.0001.

Results model of financial scarcity on materialism with parallel mediators household income and impression management.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics and cross-level correlations.

Variables	M	SD	Skewness	Kurtosis	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Constructs
1. Financial scarcity	3.89	1.25	.15	−.89	—
2. Household income	6.82	3.18	−.13	−1.21	−.385**	—
3. Impression management	3.95	1.48	−.14	−.77	.496**	−.153**	—
4. Materialism	3.77	1.17	−.05	−.45	.293**	.030	.297**
Covariates	—
5. Gender (female)	1.51	.50	−.02	−2.00	.075*	−.033	.096*	−085*	—
6. Household size	2.77	1.43	.75	.43	.010	.249**	.010	.126**	.019	—
7. Homeownership	.49	.50	.06	−2.00	−.223**	.313**	−.154**	−.028	.032	.122**	—

Notes: N = 882, * p < .05, ** p < .01 level (2-tailed). There was dummy coding of gender (female= 2, male= 1) and homeownership (homeowner= 1, renting/other= 0).

Table 3. Parallel mediation modeled effects of financial scarcity on materialism.

	Outcome
	Financial scarcity				Impression management				Materialism
Antecedent	Coeff	SE	t	p	Coeff	SE	t	p	Coeff	SE	t	p	VIF
1) Household income	−.147	.013	−11.288	<.0001	−.058	.017	−3.504	<.001	.047	.013	3.571	<.001	1.553
2) Financial scarcity	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	.236	.036	6.530	<.0001	1.345
3) Impression management	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	.162	.029	5.676	<.0001	1.342
Control variables
4) Gender (female)	.162	.077	2.104	<.05	.279	.097	2.864	<.01	−.283	.073	−3.875	<.001	1.014
5) Household size	.102	.028	3.682	<.001	.056	.035	1.598	.110	.074	.027	2.793	<.01	1.086
6) Homeownership	−.306	.081	−3.786	<.001	−.368	.103	−3.587	<.001	.030	.077	.380	.704	1.137
Model Summary	R^2 = .177				R^2 = .048				R^2 = .159
	F(4, 877) = 47.269, p < .0001				F(4, 877) = 11.045, p < .0001				F(6, 875) = 27.664, p < .0001

Notes: There was dummy coding of gender (male = 1, female = 2) and homeownership (homeowner = 1, renting/other = 0). VIF = variance inflation factor was calculated using SPSS linear regression with variables on the dependent variable (materialism). VIF was included in this table for brevity.

Table

Item number	Scales and items
	Psychological inventory of financial scarcity (PIFS) (Van Dijk et al., 2022)
1)	I often don’t have enough money
2)	I am often not able to pay my bills on time
3)	I often don’t have money to pay for the things that I really need
4)	I experience little control over my financial situation
5)	I think I am not able to manage my finances properly
6)	When I think about my financial situation, I feel powerless
7)	I am constantly wondering whether I have enough money
8)	I have a hard time thinking about things other than my financial situation
9)	I often worry about money
10)	I am only focusing on what I have to pay at this moment rather than my future expenses
11)	I take future expenses into account
12)	Because of my financial situation, I live from day to day
	Impression management (Hogan & Hogan, 1992)
1)	Spend time thinking about past mistakes.
2)	Feel crushed by setbacks.
3)	Withhold information from others.
4)	Am preoccupied with myself.
5)	Dwell on the past.
6)	Often express doubts.
	Materialism (Richins, 2004)
1)	I like to own things that impress people..
2)	The things I own say a lot about how well I’m doing in life.
3)	I admire people who own expensive homes, cars, and clothes.
4)	I like a lot of luxury in life.
5)	Buying things gives me a lot of pleasure.
6)	I try to keep my life simple, as far as possessions are concerned. (R)
7)	I’d be happier if I could afford to buy more things.
8)	My life would be better if I owned certain things I don’t have.
9)	It sometimes bothers me quite a bit that I can’t afford to buy all the things that I like.
1)	Household size Indicate how many people live in your household? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8+
1)	Homeownership (dummy coding: homeowner = 1, renter/other = 0) Which best describes your current residency? renter, homeowner, living with family/relatives not paying, other

Notes: (R) indicated reverse coded items. There was random presentation of items within each scale section.

Van Dijk, W. W., van der Werf, M. M. B., & van Dillen, L. F. (2022). The psychological inventory of financial scarcity (PIFS): A psychometric evaluation. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 101, 101939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2022.101939

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Hogan, R., & Hogan, J. (1992). Hogan personality inventory manual. 2nd ed. Hogan Assessment Systems.

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Richins, M. L. (2004). The material values scale: measurement properties and development of a short form. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(1), 209–219. https://doi.org/10.1086/383436

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