Advertising Exposure, Financial Anxiety and the Self-Stigma of Money Problems among Young Indian Consumers: Survey Evidence

This study examines how exposure to advertising relates to financial anxiety, and how both connect to the self-stigma that young consumers attach to their own money problems. The work is motivated by a specific tension in the lives of young, income-earning Indians. They are the most heavily advertised-to group in the country, they have easy access to short-term credit through Buy Now Pay Later and equated monthly instalment facilities, and they operate in a culture where admitting to money trouble carries social embarrassment. A structured questionnaire was administered to fifty respondents aged eighteen and above, and four composite constructs were built from Likert-scale items: advertising influence, financial anxiety, self-stigma expressed through the concealment of money problems, and self-esteem. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, independent samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and two multiple regression models were used to test the relationships. Advertising influence emerged as a moderate and highly significant correlate of financial anxiety (r = 0.48, p < 0.001) and as the only significant predictor of anxiety in a multivariate model. Financial anxiety in turn predicted self-stigma independently of the other variables, while advertising influence lost its direct effect on self-stigma once anxiety was controlled, pointing to a theoretically suggested indirect pattern rather than a tested mediation. Respondents who admitted concealing a purchase scored significantly higher on the attitude-based self-stigma scale, which supports the measure. Self-esteem was statistically unrelated to the three focal constructs but varied with discretionary spending capacity, with the lowest spending group standing apart from the rest. Gender differences were not statistically confirmed. Because the study rests on a small pilot sample (N = 50) and a cross-sectional design, all associations are interpreted as preliminary and non-causal. The findings are read against the social comparison and compensatory consumption literatures and carry practical implications for financial well-being and responsible advertising.

advertising influence; financial anxiety; self-stigma; young consumers; social comparison; India

1. Agarwalla, S. K., Barua, S. K., Jacob, J., and Varma, J. R. (2015). Financial literacy among working young in urban India. World Development, 67, 101-109. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Archuleta, K. L., Dale, A., and Spann, S. M. (2013). College students and financial distress: Exploring debt, financial satisfaction, and financial anxiety. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 24(2), 50-62. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bhardwaj, N., Sharma, N., & Mavi, A. K. (2025). Dynamics between macro-economic variables and the stock market: Evidence from India. Asian Journal of Economic Modelling, 11(3), 138-148. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bhardwaj, N., Sharma, N., & Mavi, A. K. (2023). Financial integration and variance decomposition of Asian stock market: Evidence from India. Asian Journal of Business and Accounting, 16(2), 143-178. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Chan, K., and Prendergast, G. (2007). Materialism and social comparison among adolescents. Social Behavior and Personality, 35(2), 213-228. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Corrigan, P. W., and Watson, A. C. (2002). The paradox of self-stigma and mental illness. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9(1), 35-53. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Dittmar, H., Bond, R., Hurst, M., and Kasser, T. (2014). The relationship between materialism and personal well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(5), 879-924. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117-140. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Garbinsky, E. N., Gladstone, J. J., Nikolova, H., and Olson, J. G. (2020). Love, lies, and money: Financial infidelity in romantic relationships. Journal of Consumer Research, 47(1), 1-24. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Gathergood, J. (2012). Self-control, financial literacy and consumer over-indebtedness. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(3), 590-602. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Guttman-Kenney, B., Firth, C., and Gathergood, J. (2023). Buy now, pay later (BNPL) on your credit card. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 37, 100788. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Lea, S. E. G., Webley, P., and Walker, C. M. (1995). Psychological factors in consumer debt: Money management, economic socialization, and credit use. Journal of Economic Psychology, 16(4), 681-701. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Mandel, N., Rucker, D. D., Levav, J., and Galinsky, A. D. (2017). The compensatory consumer behavior model: How self-discrepancies drive consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 27(1), 133-146. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Netemeyer, R. G., Warmath, D., Fernandes, D., and Lynch, J. G. (2018). How am I doing? Perceived financial well-being, its potential antecedents, and its relation to overall well-being. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(1), 68-89. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Prawitz, A. D., Garman, E. T., Sorhaindo, B., O'Neill, B., Kim, J., and Drentea, P. (2006). InCharge financial distress/financial well-being scale: Development, administration, and score interpretation. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 17(1), 34-50. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Reserve Bank of India. (2023). Report on trend and progress of banking in India. Reserve Bank of India. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Richins, M. L. (1991). Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(1), 71-83. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Richins, M. L., and Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3), 303-316. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Roberts, J. A., and Jones, E. (2001). Money attitudes, credit card use, and compulsive buying among American college students. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 35(2), 213-240. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Robins, R. W., Hendin, H. M., and Trzesniewski, K. H. (2001). Measuring global self-esteem: Construct validation of a single-item measure and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(2), 151-161. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Serido, J., Shim, S., and Tang, C. (2013). A developmental model of financial capability: A framework for promoting a successful transition to adulthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 37(4), 287-297. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Sharma, E., and Alter, A. L. (2012). Financial deprivation prompts consumers to seek scarce goods. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(3), 545-560. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Shim, S., Xiao, J. J., Barber, B. L., and Lyons, A. C. (2009). Pathways to life success: A conceptual model of financial well-being for young adults. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(6), 708-723. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Vogel, D. L., Wade, N. G., and Haake, S. (2006). Measuring the self-stigma associated with seeking psychological help. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(3), 325-337. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Vohs, K. D., Mead, N. L., and Goode, M. R. (2006). The psychological consequences of money. Science, 314(5802), 1154-1156. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Remote Sensing and GIS-Based evolution of drainage network in the VidArbha Region of Maharashtra (INDIA)