Frugality and psychological wellbeing. The role of voluntary restriction and the resourceful use of resources

Gabriel Muiños*, Ernesto Suárez, Stephany Hess, Bernardo Hernández

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper analyses the relationship between psychological wellbeing and frugality, evaluated as behaviour geared towards the voluntary restriction of consumption and the resourceful use of available resources. An analysis of structural equations was carried out using a model with moderated mediation on a sample of 1113 people. The main finding was the predictive capacity of frugal behaviour, in its two factors, to explain the level of wellbeing. A mediation effect was observed where the restriction of consumption drives the resourceful use of resources, which in turn significantly predicts the level of wellbeing. The moderating role played by the level of economic income on these relationships was analysed, conceptualized as an indicator of a person’s capacity to determine the restriction of their consumption. It is concluded that frugality is a positive element of sustainable behaviour that offers an alternative from the perspective of downscaling in contrast to models centred on efficiency.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)169-190
Number of pages22
JournalPsyecology
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29-Apr-2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Frugality
  • Psychological wellbeing
  • Sustainability

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