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‘You get in a hole, it’s like quicksand’: a grounded theory analysis of social support amid materially bounded decision-making processes*

ABSTRACT Financial precarity is a reality for a significant portion of the U.S. population. The inability of people to live sustainably has wide-ranging ramifications for individuals, families, communities, and larger society. The lived experiences of those in low-income financial precarity is perpetually threatened and constrained from a material standpoint. In this grounded theory research, we analyzed the perceived manifestation of social support during financially precarious decision-making. This study contributes the notion of materially bounded decision-making as a theoretical concept that foregrounds the role of materiality in decision-making processes. The analysis revealed uncertainty, urgency, complexity, and risk as the underlying context for materially bounded decision-making. Depending on the strength or weakness of participants’ social support systems, the trajectory of decision-making processes changes, leading to two dominant decision-making pathways. Results indicated that at times communicative social support intervention provided a sense of temporary stability.