Consumer Bankruptcy Stigma: Understanding Relationships with Familiarity and Perceived Control
Year: 2018
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Bankruptcy stigma is commonly thought to influence debtors' bankruptcy filing decisions. Despite its importance, researchers have not collected direct quantitative measures of bankruptcy stigma, either in terms of attitudes toward bankruptcy or evaluations of filers. Across two empirical studies, we find that (1) attitudes toward bankruptcy and bankruptcy filers are less negative among those with firsthand bankruptcy experience; (2) bankruptcy stigma is a multidimensional construct that includes morality‐, warmth‐, and competence‐related elements; and (3) consistent with psychological models of blame, filers who are perceived to have more control over the circumstances leading to their bankruptcy are more highly stigmatized. By directly investigating bankruptcy stigma, this research can be used to inform models of consumer decisions about bankruptcy filings and bankruptcy policy.
Source: Journal of Consumer Affairs
DOI: 10.1111/joca.12206
Authors: Alycia Chin, Taya R. Cohen, Mark R. Lindblad
Institutions: Carnegie Mellon University, Center for Responsible Lending
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Ford Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2809907849