Financial Inclusion and Mental Health Outcomes in Low-Income Communities in Ghana: The Mediating Role of Financial Stress

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_18How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Financial inclusion; Financial stress; Mental health; Mediation analysis; Structural equation modelling; Low-income communities; Ghana

Abstract

Financial inclusion is highlighted as a means to achieve economic empowerment in developing regions, yet its psychological implications remain underexplored. This study examines how financial inclusion influences mental health in low-income communities in Ghana, emphasising the mediating role of financial stress. Using household survey data from 365 respondents and applying structural equation modelling (SEM) with 5,000 bootstrapped resamples, we assessed both direct and indirect effects. Results show that while the direct path from financial inclusion to mental health is statistically non-significant (β = –0.114, p = 0.068), the indirect effects through financial stress are strong and negative (total indirect β = –0.337, p < .001), yielding an overall significant relationship (total β = –0.451, p < .001). Subjective financial stress exerted a greater adverse impact (β = 0.414, p < .001) than objective stress (β = 0.321, p < .001), confirming its stronger mediating role. These findings highlight that financial inclusion can improve well-being only when accompanied by reduced financial stress and perceived security. We recommend stress-sensitive financial products, integration of mental health education into financial literacy programs, and targeted support for vulnerable households. The study reframes inclusive finance as both an economic and psychosocial development tool for low-income populations.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Daniel Osabutey
AU  - Prince K. Kumi
AU  - Osbourne Annor Osabutey-Abbey
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/26
TI  - Financial Inclusion and Mental Health Outcomes in Low-Income Communities in Ghana: The Mediating Role of Financial Stress
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship (ICSBE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 251
EP  - 269
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_18
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_18
ID  - Osabutey2025
ER  -