Written By: Barabara O'Neill, Aimee D. Prawitz, Benoit Sorhaindo, Jinhee Kim, and E. Thomas Garman

The study explored the relationship between health and financial distress/financial well-being and differences in health based on (a) time spent in a debt management program (DMP) and (b) occurence of negative financial events. Spearman’s rho indicated those with lower financial distress, higher financial well-being in 2005 reported better health (N=1,119, p<.001). Wilcoxon ranked sums test indicated improved health for DMP clients (n=819) from 2003 to 2005 (p<.0001). Median tests and Mann Whitney post hoc tests indicated better health for clients reporting fewer negative financial events (N=1,169, p<.05). For DMP clients, health improves (a) over time, (b) with lower incidence of negative financial events, and (c) with lower financial distress and greater financial well-being. Key words: financial counseling, financial distress, financial well-being, health status, credit counseling clients

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