The impacts of coerced debt    

Impact on wellbeing

We observed significant impacts on physical and mental health, relationships and work.

Two-thirds said that the perpetrator's coercive and controlling behaviours had a fair amount or great deal of an impact on their physical health and wellbeing, 82% said it had a fair amount or a great deal of an impact on their mental health and wellbeing, over two-thirds (67%) said that it had a fair amount or a great deal of an impact on their relationships with friends and family, and around half (49%) said that it had a fair amount or a great deal of an impact on their jobs.

Qualitative responses were coded by StepChange, not by YouGov, depression/low mood was the most commonly cited impact, with women citing that the coerced debts had made them feel depressed with slightly more frequency than men. Stress was the second most commonly cited impact, with men reporting this slightly more often than women.

One female respondent wrote: “My stress levels increased whilst trying to juggle money around, thinking I could cover debt and have a bit left over, but I didn't.” At its most extreme, some respondents cited mental or nervous breakdowns (which was more common among male respondents than women) self-harm behaviours and suicidal ideation.

One male respondent wrote: “I became very depressed. For the first time in my life, I had violent and suicidal thoughts, and isolated myself from friends and family.”

A stark finding from these responses was how frequently respondents cited multiple different psychological, physical, relational and work-related impacts co-occurring, describing how they combined in ways which, in isolation would be life limiting, but which, when combined, had the power to dramatically alter every aspect of a victim-survivor’s life.

This was a common experience for victim-survivors, as they wrote about their experience of coerced debt creating financial stress, anxiety and worry, leading to significant psychological distress, poor sleep, often appetite changes, diminished self-esteem and self-confidence, and a cycle of isolation. Indeed, as one male respondent put it, his experience “became all-consuming” and meant that his “ability to focus or think about anything else was virtually 0%.”

The stress and anxiety of the coerced debts were also commonly cited as leading to exacerbated physical ill-health, and this was much more commonly cited among women than men, which is consistent with research into the gendered nature of psychosomatization.^xxii

For example, one female respondent wrote that “The stress caused flare ups with my asthma and psoriasis” and another wrote that “stress caused a recurring illness to flare and I had to arrange more overtime with work to stay on top of bills.”

In addition to impacts on victim-survivors physical and mental wellbeing, many respondents also discussed the impact of their experiences on their work lives. Many talked about having impaired concentration or focus, with half going on to say that this impacted their work.

Some had to take time off work as a result of the psychological impacts of coerced debt, and this was equally felt among women and men. Others, meanwhile, stated that they had to take on more hours at work to try to cover their debts – only female respondents cited this. One wrote: “I struggled to pay for parking at work and couldn’t join in on social things, in my work and personal life.”