Financial-related psychological factors affect life satisfaction of farmers

Farmers as individual financial decision-makers can be better identified as those under the greater responsibility of managing multi-faceted stressful situations in both family and farm management. With using 1044 random sampling survey method, this study investigates how financial stress, financial risk tolerance, locus of control, and financial self-efficacy are associated with the life satisfaction of farmers. By investigating the farmer's financial stress and finance-related psychological factors on their life satisfaction, this study has a purpose to inform financial services professionals, such as financial planners and advisors, of how to better serve a population in the farmland industries. Our findings showed that: (a)_ financial stress decreases the life satisfaction, but farmers show lower maringal effect than the non-farmers; (b) locus of control increases the life satisfaction, but the farmers show smaller marginal effect than non-farmers, and (c) demographic factors show different maringal effects among non-famrers and farmers (i.e., age, education, gender). Overall, identification of themselves as a farmer eased the negative relationship between financial stress and life satisfaction but reduced the positive relationship between locus of control and life satisfaction.