Primary outcomes
panic, anxiety
SECONDARY
In year one, the treatment group’s income volatility was 19% compared to control 26%, and was statistically significant (Descriptive statistics of treatment and control SEED participants for Kessler 10 scores, December 2018 through August 2021Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) of treatment and control SEED participants for Kessler 10 scores by groupThe SF-36, which measures 8 subscales of mental and physical wellbeing, showed significant between group changes largely in the pre-pandemic year of the experiment (Tables Descriptive statistics of treatment and control SEED participants for SF-36 subscale scores, December 2018 through August 2021Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) of treatment and control SEED participants for SF-36 subscale scores by groupNarrative data demonstrated wellbeing patterns that contextualized primary outcomes and explained unexpected secondary outcomes. Early on, participants softened scarcity’s impact by paying bills and meeting basic needs. As volatility smoothed and psychological distress dampened, their time use and pooling behaviors shifted. Pooling references managing scarcity through combining material and immaterial resources across networks. These networks shaped how the $500 spilled into other households and alleviated strain elsewhere. Most spillovers overlapped with food insecurity and unpaid care work for children, older adults, and the medically fragile. Rather than their norm of borrowing food, money, or time for childcare and eldercare from others, they stretched resources across fragile networks. This changed food quality and quantity and assisted with meeting medical needs otherwise missed. During the pandemic, GI initially provided networks ways of reducing exposure through bulk shopping, but as the pandemic deepened, they pre-emptively altered food quality fearing their financial situation would weaken. As Vanessa notes, food is where strain starts saying, “I don’t eat as much. My meals are different. I eat bologna sandwiches and cheerios.”Financial scarcity also generated time scarcity linked to persistent anxiety and stress which GI dissipated. Many echoed Pam’s words, “I had panic attacks and anxiety…I had to take a pill for it. And I haven’t even touched them in awhile.” When the treatment group crossed from scarcity to stability and psychological distress to wellbeing, they experienced an expansion of time for themselves that Jake described as “normal activities that a lot of people take for granted.” Others linked time expansion to meaningful participation in acts granting “dignity,” including prioritizing relationships, attending social gatherings, reconnecting with family, resuming artistic pursuits long abandoned, and parents able to “breathe and do homework,” host birthdays, and watch “tv with my kids instead of yelling.” These wellbeing trajectories included newfound capacity for goals and control over one’s future by providing the space for people to choose themselves rather than logging additional time in the contingent workforce while struggling to make ends meet. Sarah, like many, described it as a newfound outlook where she could “focus more on myself… To focus on me and get everything I need to be paid in full.”