Improving Data Collection of Debt and Financial Strain to Assess Health Impacts of Economic Insecurity

项目摘要/摘要 个人和家庭债务在不平等的动态中发挥着越来越重要的作用。 美国。然而，目前的数据限制阻碍了对这一作用的科学理解 在减少或加剧经济不安全方面的负债。充其量，现有的社会调查收集 关于中产阶级人口最常遇到的主流债务子集的数据 (抵押贷款、信用卡、汽车贷款、助学贷款)，而低收入人口常见的债务 (发薪日贷款、法定债务、逾期账单、子女抚养费欠款、雇主、家庭和 朋友)的代表性较差。如果没有更好的数据，对人口健康和 幸福可能低估和错误地识别经济不安全和不利的关键来源， 以及债务与贫困、健康和家庭功能的互惠影响。该项目包括 多管齐下的数据收集和分析工作，以构建更强大的数据基础设施、更多 充分和准确的债务计量，以及分析各种形式的债务的最佳做法 低收入家庭的负债及其与经济困难和经济压力的关系。这个 该项目有三个具体目标：(1)进行定性、认知和发展性访谈 与低收入家庭分享他们的债务经历，并利用这些结果制定 改进的调查工具，全面准确地捕捉低收入债务持有量； (2)现场两波先导研究，旨在比较以下情况下的数据质量和准确性 通过增强型工具收集的资金与当前的“黄金标准”工具相比(工具将是 随机分配)；以及(3)分析挂钩试点调查，高质量行政(就业， 收入和福利收据)和个人信用报告数据，以(A)记录自我 通过每个工具收集的报告债务数据和信用报告数据；(B)审查是否 数据收集工具的一致性和差异因受访者的金融知识和 社会人口学特征(教育、种族)；(C)估计类型和数量的关联性 使用增强模块、现有模块和有经济困难的信用报告数据的债务 和财政压力；以及(D)调查(三项措施)之间的因果关系 经济困难和财政紧张的债务。这项研究将是第一次提供有关 低收入人口的各种债务类型和数额及其 与困难和经济压力有关。通过改进数据收集和分析，该研究 有可能确定政策杠杆，以减少债务对 弱势家庭和更有针对性的干预措施，以减少经济不安全和改善 幸福。

Project Summary/Abstract Individual and household debt plays an increasingly important role in the dynamics of inequality in the United States. However, current data limitations impede scientific understanding of the role of indebtedness in reducing or exacerbating economic insecurity. At best, existing social surveys collect data on a subset of mainstream debts most often encountered by middle-class populations (mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, student loans), while debts common to low-income populations (payday loans, legal debts, past due bills, child support arrears, loans from employers, family, and friends) are less well represented. Without better data, scientific analyses of population health and wellbeing may understate and misidentify crucial sources of economic insecurity and disadvantage, as well as reciprocal effects of debt with poverty, health, and family functioning. This project consists of a multi-pronged data collection and analysis effort to build a stronger data infrastructure, more adequate and accurate measures of indebtedness, and best practices for analyzing various forms of indebtedness and their relation to economic hardship and financial strain for low-income families. The project has three Specific Aims: (1) To conduct qualitative cognitive and developmental interviews with low-income families on their experiences with debt and use these results to develop an enhanced survey instrument that comprehensively and accurately captures low-income debt holding; (2) To field a two-wave pilot study designed to allow comparison of data quality and accuracy when collected via the enhanced instrument versus current ‘gold standard’ instruments (instruments will be randomly assigned); and (3) To analyze linked pilot survey, high-quality administrative (employment, earnings, and benefit receipt), and individual credit report data to (a) document consistency of self- reported debt data collected via each instrument with credit report data; (b) examine whether consistency and differences by data collection instrument differ by respondent financial literacy and sociodemographic characteristics (education, race); (c) estimate associations of types and amounts of debt using the enhanced module, existing modules, and credit report data with economic hardship and financial strain; and (d) investigate the causal order of associations of (the three measures of) debt with economic hardship and financial strain. The study will be the first to provide detailed data on the full range of types and amounts of indebtedness among low-income populations and their associations with hardship and financial strain. By improving data collection and analysis, the study had the potential to identify policy levers that could reduce potential negative effects of debt on disadvantaged families and better target interventions to lessen economic insecurity and improve well-being.