COPING STRATEGIES FOR "MAKING ENDS MEET":

FINDINGS FROM A COGNITIVE RESEARCH STUDY AT

THE U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Thesia I. Garner, Ph.D.

Research Economist

Division of Price and Index Number Research

tel: (202) 606 6579 extension 596

email: Garner_T@bls.gov

and

Linda L. Stinson, Ph.D.

Research Psychologist

Office of Research and Evaluation

tel: (202) 606 7528

email: Stinson_L@bls.gov

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Postal Square Building

2 Mass. Ave., N.E.

Washington, D. C. 20212

43rd Annual Conference of the American Council on Consumer Interests

Salt Lake City, Utah

Invited Paper Session: Coping During Periods of Economic Uncertainty

Friday, April 4, 1997, 8:30-10:00 a.m.

Synthesizer: Jane Schuchardt, U.S. Department of Agriculture

The authors would like to thank persons in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Bureau of the Census (Census), Joint 

Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, and University of Michigan Survey Research Center 

for their work on this study. Support for the project was provided by the BLS and the Census. Special thanks go to 

Sylvia Fisher, Robert Groves, Brian Kojetin, Bob Kominski, Mary McCarthy, Darby Miller, Brent Moulton, 

Stephanie Shipp, Clyde Tucker, and Denny Vaughan. The responsibility for errors remains with the authors. All views 

expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not reflect the views or policies of the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics or the views of other BLS staff members.
I. INTRODUCTION

Our society is continuously being faced with challenges associated with economic 

uncertainty. This economic uncertainty can be related to downsizing by companies, changes in 

the role of government, increased life spans, and changes in the composition of families. 

Concerns arise over income security resulting in economic strain. Changes resulting from 

economic uncertainty motivate individuals and households to initiate various adjustment or 

coping strategies as they strive to meet their basic needs. Other individuals and households use 

strategies which result in their actually "getting ahead." How people deal with changes and their 

implementation of various coping strategies will strongly influence whether these individuals 

are winners or losers. The assumption that people are motivated to change behaviors because of 

the discrepancy between ideal (i.e., standard) and actual situations (i.e., level) makes sense, but 

it is also well accepted across different theoretical literatures.

The major survey problem when measuring subjective phenomena such as possible 

coping strategies and income adequacy is the susceptibility to nonsampling error. Any change, 

temporary or permanent, in or around the responding subject (mood, experience, weather) may 

alter that subject's perceptions, interpretations, and conclusions- if only for a moment. Likewise, 

the context of the interview itself, the order in which questions are presented, and even the 

characteristics of the interviewer may affect the respondent's subjective assessment. In such 

cases, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to determine whether changes in subjective 

assessments represent true

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variation resulting from a change within the subject or the intrusion of measurement error into 

the survey process. As a result, the effective use of subjective questions must absolutely depend 

upon (1) clear, precise, and unambiguous language, (2) non-arbitrary response categories, and 

(3) clearly defined concepts. Only in this way can surveys overcome the vulnerability of 

subjective questions to measurement error.

The purpose of this paper is to report on work being conducted within the U.S. Bureau 

of Labor Statistics (BLS), in conjunction with the Bureau of the Census, on subjective or 

cognitive assessments of economic well-being. The study was designed primarily to help us 

understand how individuals think as they are asked questions related to income adequacy; 

information about coping strategies was collected as part of this process. Here we focus on the 

coping strategies that individuals and households use or say they would use if necessary to 

"make ends meets." Since most American adults are confronted daily with the delicate task of 

balancing their income and expenses, it seems reasonable to expect them to have a rather 

well-developed budgetary sense and understanding of how they make ends meet. Consequently, 

the task of listing strategies that help them maintain that balance between income and expenses 

in pursuit of their personal goals should not be unfamiliar to them.

Once we gain a better understanding of questions like the ones we pose in our study, 

greater progress can be made to combine subjective assessments and objective measures of 

economic well-being. This information can be used to help us understand better the data that 

we already collect related to income and expenditures and other "objective" measures of levels 

of living, assist in our development of data collection instruments, and broaden our array of 

economic statistical measures. We should also be

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able to test various consumption theories such as the life-cycle hypothesis and the relative 

income hypothesis, develop equivalence scales, measure individual welfare functions, conduct 

tests of utility maximization in consumer behavior, quantify habit formation and preference 

formation, and produce sufficiency thresholds (for references see Garner, Stinson, and Shipp 

1996). In addition, with improved question wording and survey questionnaires, policy makers 

should be in a better position to design and implement improved maintenance and transfer 

programs for the more needy in our society.

The remainder of this paper is organized into four sections: study design, 

methodology, results related to coping strategies, and conclusion. The study was designed by 

staff within the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with data collected by the BLS and the 

University of Michigan Institute for Survey Research. Funding was provided by the BLS and 

Bureau of the Census.

II. STUDY DESIGN

Our study was designed primarily to address four main research questions:

1. How do respondents interpret such terms as "minimum income," "sufficient income," 

"necessary expenses, " and "monthly household income?" Since these terms are not defined 

for respondents, the range of possible interpretations needed to be determined.

2. Are there potential order effects when asking respondents to make subjective 

assessments? For example, when respondents are asked to assess satisfaction with their 

income, are their ratings affected by questions immediately preceding those asked about 

their expenditures? The possibility exists that consideration of one's expenses may create 

a comparison that may temporarily raise or lower one's evaluation of income.

3. How do respondents use response categories such as "good/bad," "sufficient/insufficient," 

and "delighted/terrible?" Are these the appropriate terms for assessing people's attitudes and 

emotions about their income? What metric should be used for the scale range?

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4. How easy or difficult is it for respondents to make subjective assessments of their 

income? How accurately do respondents review their economic situation when making 

subjective assessments?

To address these four main research questions, a two-prong strategy of qualitative 

testing consisting of cognitive interviews and focus groups was used. The successful application 

of such qualitative methodologies requires that as many differing viewpoints as possible be 

gathered, so that a full range of ideas and opinions may be observed. In order to extend the 

breadth of views expressed, our study is designed to include three types of family composition, 

three levels of income, and five sites spread across the United States. The result is a 

three-by-three design matrix (based on household type and income group) with a total of nine 

cells; not all sites are represented by each cell in the matrix. At least five (5) interviews and one 

(1) focus group was conducted in each cell.

Based on our own evaluations and earlier work, 1 we expected that spending patterns 

impinge upon one's attitude toward income, so we decided it was necessary to include a range 

of household types reflecting diverse expenditure patterns. We screened participants and 

categorized their household types as: 

1. single adults with no children under 18 years-of-age in the home,

2. adults (either single or sharing expenses with another adult) with children under 18

years-of-age in the home,

3. adults sharing expenses, but with no children under 18 years-of-age in the home.

We defined the levels of income as either (1) low, (2) medium, or (3) high.

These are determined separately for each geographic area in which testing is conducted.

Using July to December 1994 Income Percentile Data from the Current Population

___________________________

1

Garner and de Vos (1995).

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Survey (CPS), 2 staff from the BLS 3 adjusted these estimates to the March 1996 level using 

the CPI-U for all items.4 These estimates represent taxable household income in the 

appropriate metropolitan statistical areas and do not include the cash value of food stamps. 

The income ranges for each area are divided into thirds for each of the three household types.

The five sites were selected to provided national coverage, as well as some urban/rural 

differentiation. The sites were Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, Baltimore, and West Virginia. In 

this paper, we present summary results from all of the interviews. The Miami , Baltimore, and 

West Virginia focus groups and cognitive interviews were conducted by research psychologists 

and other staff members from the BLS. Data from individuals living in the Los Angeles and 

Detroit areas were collected by a team of researchers from the University of Michigan Survey 

Research Center, under contract with the BLS. Data were collected during the late spring and 

summer of 1996.

III. METHODOLOGY

Our choice of two qualitative methodologies, focus groups and cognitive interviews, 

reflected our lack of even the most basic information concerning the ways that respondents 

would react to these types of questions, scales, and concepts. We had no prior hypotheses driving 

our data collection. Instead, we were attempting to (a) simply observe the procedures and 

strategies respondents use when making subjective

___________________________________________

2 Special thanks are extended to Kathleen Short of the Census Bureau for producing these ranges. Earlier ranges were 

produced by Bill Passero using CEX data but we decided later to use the CPS data for selecting our subsamples. 

3

Thanks to Wolf Weber for this conversion.
assessments, (b) hear the language they use when discussing these topics, and, ultimately, ( c) 

see these issues from the respondents' perspective by encouraging and assisting them in 

articulating their own unique perspectives on the world. 

A. Focus Groups

In our focus groups, respondents were asked to discuss the concepts of "minimum 

income" among themselves. Specifically, we asked them:

• What amount of income would they need to "make ends meet" and how did they 

decide upon this amount?

• What expenses would be covered by "enough money to make ends meet?" What 

would this amount of money purchase?

• What things in their lives determine the amount of income a family needs "to make 

ends meet?"

In addition, participants were asked to evaluate different "levels" of income. For 

instance, they were asked to describe the differences between "good" and "bad" amounts of 

income. A similar discussion was raised for the distinctions between "sufficient" and 

"insufficient" incomes. Participants were asked to consider what elements or events might 

cause the dividing points between "good and bad" or between "sufficient and insufficient" 

incomes to fluctuate. Finally, participants were presented with the "delighted/terrible" scale and 

probed for their reaction to, as well as their understanding and use of its response categories. 

B. Cognitive Interviews

For this study, several tasks were drawn from the repertoire of cognitive laboratory 

techniques. The interviews begin with a concurrent think-aloud task, through

______________________________________________________________________________________

4 No CPI-U data were available for the Detroit/Ann Arbor area for March 1996. The alternative for updating 

the income ranges was thus to average the CPI-Us for February 1996 and April 1996 to make the

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which the participants were able to describe their thoughts while answering either the MIQ and an 

alternative "minimum spend" question. Participants were first "taught" to create an answer out loud 

by having the procedures explained and demonstrated. They were then requested to talk through all 

the issues and problems they had as they arrived at , their answer to the question. As the answers 

emerge, the interviewer followed up with probing questions to gain additional details and 

understanding. Participants were asked to rate their confidence in the answer they provided and to 

paraphrase some of the concepts in their own words. Such strategies are generally used to identify 

difficulties in understanding question wording or concepts, recall strategies, and the participants' 

reactions to the question. 5

A second technique used was an "income sorting" task directed toward assessing the 

ways that participants evaluate income. Two versions of the task were used for each participant. 

In each case, cards were arranged in front of the participant that were labeled either "Very 

good," "Good," "Bad," "Very Bad" or "Sufficient," "Insufficient." Participants were then handed 

a stack of cards with dollar amounts written on them, ranging from $250 to $6,000 in $250 

increments. Participants were instructed to think about all the members of their household and 

their expenses and then to evaluate each dollar amount as monthly take-home pay. The 

evaluations were made by placing each dollar amount into an appropriate category. After all the 

cards had been sorted and the difficult gray areas between categories recognized, the 

interviewers probed the decisions. Participants were asked to discuss how they decided to 

categorize the dollar amounts,

________________________________________________________________________________________

adjustment.

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what the income amounts categorized together had in common, and what their lives would look 

like with the varying categories of income.

A third task was a series of short answer questions using the "delighted/terrible" scale. 

"Satisfaction" assessments ran the risk of being affected by preceding questions that make specific 

information salient, thereby creating temporary standards of comparisons, affecting judgments, and 

causing later responses to be higher or lower by comparison. So in order to test for this possibility, a series 

of questions was asked for which participants were to use the "delighted/terrible" scale to identify how 

they felt about expenses such as the cost of feeding their families, eating out in restaurants, buying 

clothes, health care, transportation, school tuition, and housing. Half of the participants were asked to 

assess their family incomes prior to expenditure assessments; half of the participants were asked to 

evaluate their family incomes after the evaluation of expenses. Participants were also asked to discuss the 

"delighted/terrible" scale and to describe the meaning of the various categories.

In order to understand more fully the meaning of ‘making ends meet,’ we asked respondents to 

tell us what their lives would look like if they could NOT make ends meet. Their responses were a 

fascinating description of coping strategies and emotional reactions. Life in which you were "not making 

ends meet" was outlined as a series of behaviors undertaken to curb spending and increase earnings, along 

with a number of negative emotions running in tandem.

5 T. J. DeMaio and J. M. Rothgeb. "Cognitive Interviewing Techniques in the Lab and in the Field." In Answering 

Questions, N. Schwarz and S. Sudman (eds.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996, pp. 177-195.
In closing, the interview participants answered a series of short debriefing questions. 

These questions probed their reactions to the interview itself, what they liked best and least 

during the interview, what was easiest and most difficult, and their ideas for other questions that 

we could ask to more fully understand their subjective experience of the yin and yang of income 

and expenses.

IV. RESULTS

A number of psychologists have argued that it is through our efforts to exercise control 

over our lives by making decisions and adjusting our behavior that we show ourselves to be 

most human (Adler, 1930; de Charms, 1968; White, 1959). Our respondents clearly 

demonstrated this fundamental human urge to take charge of their own existence. Repeatedly, 

they described ways they might adapt to new economic constraints, curtail their spending, and 

attempt to regain fiscal ascendancy (see Appendix). Echoing the economizing tactics detailed 

by Van Raaij and Eilander (1983), these strategies seem generally to be directed at adjustments 

to (1) price, (2) quantity, (3) quality, and (4) lifestyle. Examples generated by our respondents 

in each of these categories are listed below.

Adjustments to Price

• look for sales

• buy second-hand goods

• shop with coupons

• buy generic products

• eat cheaper foods

• move to cheaper lodgings

• buy a cheaper automobile

• pay cash to increase awareness of spending

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Adjustments to Quantity

• limit new clothing purchases

• stretch personal hygiene supplies

• limit amount of insurance coverage

• take fewer car trips

• limit entertaining, dating, recreation

• make fewer long-distance telephone calls

• conserve electricity and gas

• limit laundering of clothes

• eat fewer snacks and skip meals

• no eating out

• limit church tithes and charity donations

• postpone home repairs

• postpone health procedures

• limit hair cuts or hair styling

Adjustments to Quality

• move to more dangerous, but cheaper, part of town

• buy smaller home

• make gifts instead of purchasing them

• trade-in a new car for an older model; keep automobiles longer

• give up specialty vehicles (e.g., vans, motorcycles)

• buy food that `keeps you going' (e.g., macaroni, oatmeal, rice, pasta)

• stop buying fancy cuts of meat, fresh vegetables or fruit

• use cloth diapers instead of disposables

Adjustments to Lifestyle

• move in with family or friends

• take in a roommate/boarder

• have children spend a week with their grandparents

• drop out of college

• give up private schools for the children

• come out of retirement and work

• take on multiple jobs (e.g., get a night job)

• borrow from family and friends

• borrow from the bank

• sell possessions, cash-in investments

• accept gifts from Churches

• change from driving one's own car to walking, bicycling, or using public 

transportation

• go to nature parks for free entertainment

• find edible plants and/or can one's own produce

• do home repairs and all housework oneself

• find a husband

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Along with the notion of regaining control over one's economic situation is the issue of 

"predictability." By changing one's behavior, not only does one attempt to remedy unpleasant 

economic conditions, but one may also seek to re-establish the predictability of events. A 

number of psychologists have suggested that this "cognitive control" is an integral feature of 

coping (Averill, 1973; Greer et al., 1970; Lemer, 1970, 1971). Our respondents alluded to their 

need for a predictable economic situations when they told us that income insufficiencies would 

cause them to experience worry and stress. As they said:

"(Having insufficient income means) I will always have to worry how I would pay my other 

bills. "

"With the bad income, it's dark and uncertain; there's struggle. There's a real insecurity level 

that comes in here in the bad (income amounts). You're living from day-to-day. "

"(With very bad amounts of income), I'd be worried about the future. I'd worry a great deal 

about the future. " (Unpublished BLS report--- Thesia, I don't know exactly how we should 

reference this here)

In some cases, our respondents mentioned the possibility of being so worried by not 

making ends meet that they would become "depressed." Researchers have viewed depression as 

having many components, including the loss of self-esteem and motivation resulting from the 

uncontrollability of outcomes. But the negative emotions that accompany depression are 

considered to result from the expectation of bad events, since one is generally not depressed by 

good events, even when they are uncontrollable (Abramson et al., 1978). At least three factors 

are credited with intensifying the negative emotions that accompany depression:

1. the desirability of the unobtainable outcome or the aversiveness of the unavoidable 

outcome, 
2. the degree of uncontrollability, and

3. perceptions of internal factors, such as lack of ability, as the cause of negative 

outcomes. (Abramson et al., 1978, p. 65)

Another factor that may contribute to the cognitive discomfort of "not being able to 

make ends meet," is the comparison with one's prior experiences of economic comfort 

According to Thibaut and Kelley (1959) one's current experience is driven, in large part, by that 

to which one has become accustomed. These past experiences create a backdrop of expectations 

or "comparison level" against which all new experiences are measured and from which their 

meaning is drawn (Thibaut and Kelley, 1959, p. 81). The classic example is that of driving 60 

miles per hour for several hours and then feeling agitated if one must creep along at 40 miles 

per hour, whereas that same 40 miles per hour seems quite rapid after being stalled in a traffic 

jam (Deutsch and Krauss, 1965, p. 117). Again, the effect of this comparison with prior 

standards was reported by our respondents:

"(With very bad income amounts) my children would probably go into depression and become 

very upset not knowing why they don't have the things that they used to have... it would be bad 

for them, especially mentally and physically. "

“The family as a whole, I think, would suffer just from the negative attitudes that would come 

out of the frustration of not being able to meet the necessary bills. And there would be 

frustration involved in the small luxuries that we do have, if we could not have those. " (Stinson 

1997) 

When situations become uncontrollable and unpredictable, when one's actions do not 

appear to be successful in remedying aversive events, the result may such profound 

psychological distress that many kinds of maladaptive responses begin to appear. These 

responses may include feelings of helplessness, self-destructive activities, or even physical 

disease (Wortman and Brehm, 1975, p. 278). Among the actions cited by a

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couple of our respondents in response to the prospect of economic despair was the 

possibility that one, in fact, may just give up and commit suicide. As they said:

"With bad income, you feel pressure, tension, frustration; this is where fear begins. With the very 

bad (amounts), a lot of people feel suicidal. They feel worthless and depressed. " .

"Very bad income brings depression. There's a sense of futility. You might even seek

desperate measures to get out. "

7 would be very depressed, I'm sure. My health would probably decline ... . "

(unpublished BLS report)

There is also some evidence from the animal literature that when organisms encounter 

uncontrollable negative stimulation, they will begin reflexive fighting. That is to say, many 

species will indiscriminately strike at any target, including innocent bystanders, when 

confronted with physical pain or even frustration when previous rewards are withheld. While 

this may appear to be maladaptive behavior, such aggressive responses may actually be 

rewarding in the face of uncontrollably aversive situations (Ulrich & Azrin, 1962). In humans, 

this may be manifested by hostility and aggression toward the agents causing the uncontrollable 

events and may generalize to others who are close to them (Brehm, 1966). Once again, our 

respondents alerted us to this possibility when they described family fighting and marital strain 

resulting from straitened economic situations.

"(If we couldn't make ends meet), it'd be a lot more stress in the family. I could see us blaming 

each other for lack of income and blaming each other for spending too much... it could be 

drastic enough to lead to separation. Part of the fact that led to the divorce in my first marriage 

was small income. Money always seemed to be a factor in arguments. "

"(If we couldn't make ends meet), I would imagine that there would be a lot of stress in the 

marriage. Talking to my friends, that is one of the biggest things they argue about. The stress 

in marriages is about making ends meet. There would be a lot of stress in the marriage. "

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"(If you couldn't make ends meet), it would be chaos. There would probably be a lot more 

fighting in the house... arguing. "(unpublished BLS report)

Taken all together, we see from these respondent reports that "not being able to make 

ends meet" produces discomfort on many levels. On the one hand, there is physical discomfort 

produced by having to make sacrifices and changes to decrease spending and increase available 

funds. The behaviors which our respondents reported to us represent many alternatives for 

coping with this financial struggle (see Appendix). On the other hand, there is also a cognitive 

component which accounts for a great deal of the distress resulting from not being able to make 

ends meet. Repetitive thoughts dwelling upon one's economic insufficiencies create worry and 

fear. Furthermore, if one judges oneself to be ineffectual in dealing with the difficulties, not only 

is the worry and stress magnified, but the effect may be so severe that inactivity and depression 

result (Bandura, 1982).

V. CONCLUSION

Our research on subjective assessments of economic well-being have provided us with 

insight into how individuals, families, and households cope, not only during periods of 

economic uncertainty, but each day. With this added knowledge, we in the federal statistical 

community hope to be able to improve our data collection instruments which are used to 

monitor the economic situation of these groups. We live in a world increasingly characterized by 

economic uncertainty, research such as this, helps us to understand how we are getting by or 

getting ahead.

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V. REFERENCES

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Critique and Reformulation." Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49-74.

Adler, A. (1930). "Individual Psychology." In C. Murchinson (Ed.), Psychologies of 1930. 

Worcester, Mass.: Clark University Press.

Averill, J.R. (1973). "Personal Control Over Aversive Stimuli and its Relationship to Stress." 

Psychological Bulletin, 80, 286-303.

Bandura, A. (1982). "Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency." American 

Psychology, 37, 122-147.

Brehm, J.W. (1966). A Theory of Psychological Reactance. New York: Academic Press.

DeCharms, R. (1968). Personal Causation. New York: Academic Press.

Deutsch, M. and Krauss, R. (1965). Theories in Social Psychology. New York: Basic Books.

Garner, Thesia I. and Klaas de Vos (1994), "Income Sufficiency, Expenditures and Subjective 

Poverty: Results from the United States and the Netherlands," In Models and Measurement of 

Welfare and Inequality, edited by Wolfgang Eichhom, Berlin, SpringerVerlag.

Garner, Thesia I., Linda L. Stinson, and Stephanie S. Shipp (1996), "Affordability, Income 

Adequacy, and Subjective Assessments of Economic Well-Being: Preliminary Findings." 

Paper presented at the Association for Consumer Research Conference, October 10-13, 1996, 

Tucson, Arizona.

Greer, J.H., Davison, G.C., and Gatchel, R.I. (1970). "Reduction of Stress in Humans 

Through Non-Vertical Perceived Control of Aversive Stimulation." Journal of Personality 

and Social Psychology, 16, 731-738.

Lerner, M.J. (1970). "The Desire for Justice and Reactions to Victims." In J. Macaulay and L. 

Berkowitz (Eds.), Altruism and Helping Behavior. New York: Academic Press.

_________(1971). "Observer's Evaluation of a Victim: Justice, Guilt and Veridical 

Perception." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 20, 127-130.

Stinson, Linda (1997), The Subjective Assessment of Income and Expenses: Cognitive Test 

Results, Final Report, Bureau of the Labor Statistics, Washington, D. C., January.

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Thibaut, J.W., and Kelley, H.H. (1959). The Social Psychology of Groups. New York: John 

Wiley & Sons.

Ulrich, R.E. and Azrin, N.H. (1962). "Reflexive Fighting in Response to Aversive 

Stimulation." Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 5, 511-520.

Van Raaij, W.F. and Eilander, G. (1983). Consumer Economizing Tactics for Ten Product 

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169-174.

White, R.W. (1959). "Motivation Reconsidered: the Concept of Competence." 

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Wortman, C.B. and Brehm, J. (1975). "Responses to Uncontrollable Outcomes:" In L. 

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