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Examining Antecedents of Health Insurance Literacy: The Role of Locus of Control, Cognitive Style, and Financial Knowledge
Author(s) -
O'Connor Genevieve Elizabeth,
Kabadayi Sertan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of consumer affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1745-6606
pISSN - 0022-0078
DOI - 10.1111/joca.12266
Subject(s) - locus of control , psychographic , financial literacy , health literacy , business , psychological intervention , welfare , health care , actuarial science , psychology , marketing , economics , social psychology , finance , economic growth , market economy , psychiatry
Today's consumer is expected to make health‐care decisions that have serious implications for their welfare. However, a major barrier to these decisions is a basic lack of understanding of health insurance. A critical first step is to examine drivers of health insurance literacy and in turn offer interventions that can have a positive impact on consumer welfare. This article explores the relationship between relevant consumer psychographics, financial knowledge, and demographics with health insurance literacy. Results indicate that while demographics play a role, the degree to which consumers believe a situation or event is under their own control (i.e., locus of control), how they process information (i.e., cognitive style), and consumer's financial confidence (i.e., subjective knowledge) is a critical indicator of their health insurance literacy. Cluster analysis reveals three “faces” of health insurance literacy.