Joyce Serido

Financial Socialization of First-Year College Students: The Roles of Parents, Work, and Education.

This cross-sectional study tests a conceptual financial socialization process model, specifying four-levels that connect anticipatory socialization during adolescence to young adults’ current financial learning, to their financial attitudes, and to their financial behavior. A total of 2,098 first-year college students (61.9% females) participated in the survey, representing a diverse ethnic group (32.6% minority participation: Hispanic 14.9%, Asian/Asian American 9%, Black 3.4%, Native American 1.8% and other 3.5%). Structural equation modeling indicated that parents, work, and high school financial education during adolescence predicted young adults’ current financial learning, attitude and behavior, with the role played by parents substantially greater than the role played by work experience and high school financial education combined. Data also supported the proposed hierarchical financial socialization four-level model, indicating that early financial socialization is related to financial learning, which in turn is related to financial attitudes and subsequently to financial behavior. The study presents a discussion of how the theories of consumer socialization and planned behavior were combined effectively to depict the financial development of young adults. Several practical implications are also provided for parents, educators and students.

Chronic stressors and daily hassles: Unique and interactive relationships with psychological distress.

Using daily telephone interviews of a U.S. national sample of adults, aged 25–74 (N = 1,031), the present analyses draw from theories of the stress process and recent research to examine how chronic role-related stressors and daily hassles affect psychological distress. Four separate hypotheses are examined. The first explores the association between chronic stressors and daily hassles. The second tests whether daily hassles function as an intervening variable between chronic stressors and psychological distress. The third tests whether a chronic stressor moderates the relationship between daily hassles and psychological distress. The fourth hypothesis tests for cross-domain effects of chronic stressors and daily hassles. Findings indicate that chronic stressors and daily hassles are distinct types of stressors with unique contributions to psychological distress. The study provides support for chronic home stressors functioning as a moderating factor on the relationship between daily hassles and psychological distress both within and across domains.

Antecedents and Consequences of Risky Credit Behavior Among College Students: Application and Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior

The Credit Card Act of 2009 reflects increased public policy concern about the risky credit behaviors of young adults. This act promotes increased responsibility of parents and implies that young adults must acquire financial knowledge and practice responsible financial behaviors. This study addresses this public issue by investigating the psychological processes underlying young adults’ risky credit card behaviors and the role of parents and financial knowledge in the financial behavior of young adults. A conceptual model based on an extension of the theory of planned behavior is proposed. The authors collected data from a sample of first-year students at a major public university. The results show that both parental norm and parental socioeconomic status are important factors that influence students’ risky credit behaviors. Furthermore, subjective financial knowledge does more to prevent risky credit behaviors than objective financial knowledge. Finally, behavioral intention is the most important factor in preventing risky credit behaviors and credit card debt accumulation. The authors draw on their findings to provide public policy implications.

Moving Beyond Youth Voice

This study combines research documenting the benefits of positive relationships between youth and caring adults on a young person’s positive development with studies on youth voice to examine the mechanisms through which participation in youth programs contributes to positive developmental outcomes. Specifically, the study explores whether youth’s perceived quality relationships with adults contribute to strengthening of youth voice and in turn how the two combine to affect youth’s perception of the benefits of program participation. The findings derived from survey data regarding 748 youth who participated in youth—adult partnership programs in 29 states suggest that young people who develop positive relationships with adults perceive they have more voice in the program and in turn perceive more benefits to program participation. Implications for research and practice are presented.

Daily hassles and uplifts: a diary study on understanding relationship quality.

In this investigation, we use the Conservation of Resources (CoR) theory as a guide to examine how both uplifts and hassles are associated with positive (e.g., satisfaction, commitment) and negative (ambivalence, conflict) relational quality on a daily basis. In previous studies of hassles and uplifts, the focus has been primarily on negative outcomes at the individual level (e.g., affect). Here, we build on this previous research in examining both positive and negative events (i.e., uplifts and hassles) in associations with positive and negative relational qualities. Further, we focus on examining social and nonsocial events that are external to the relationship (i.e., do not involve the romantic partner) and how they are linked with relational qualities. Finally, we examine which patterns are confined to the same day and which carry over to subsequent days (i.e., lagged effects). Contrary to previous literature, we find that both social and nonsocial hassles are largely unrelated to relationship quality after accounting for the effects of social and nonsocial uplifts. In contrast, nonsocial uplifts bolster positive feelings about the relationship on that day. Results also show that hassles and uplifts may work together to explain relational commitment. Finally, we find that nonsocial uplifts experienced on one day are associated with trend-level declines in next day positive feelings about the relationship. Our findings suggest that preserving relationship quality through daily experiences is best achieved by equipping couples to recognize the benefits of uplifts to the relationship, especially uplifts that are nonsocial, in tandem with managing hassles.

A developmental model of financial capability: A framework for promoting a successful transition to adulthood

This study proposes a developmental model of financial capability to understand the process by which young adults acquire the financial knowledge and behaviors needed to manage full-time adult social roles and responsibilities. The model integrates financial knowledge, financial self-beliefs, financial behavior, and well-being into a single financial decision-making process. With two-time longitudinal survey data from college students (N = 1,511; aged 18–23 years at Wave 1 and 21–26 years at Wave 2), the findings provide support for a pattern of co-occurring change: changing knowledge about personal finances associated with changing self-beliefs about finances; changing self-beliefs associated with changing financial behaviors; and changing financial behaviors ultimately associated with changes in financial and overall well-being. We discuss the findings in the context of facilitating a positive transition to adulthood during widespread economic uncertainty.

Financial Education, Financial Knowledge, and Risky Credit Behavior of College Students

The purpose of this study is to examine associations among financial education, financial knowledge, and risky credit behavior of college students. Using data from a sample of first-year college students, we found evidence that taking personal finance courses in high school and college is associated with financial knowledge as well as risky credit behavior. Specifically, both high school and college personal finance courses are associated positively with subjective financial knowledge. Subjective financial knowledge in turn reduces the chance of engaging in risky paying behavior. In addition, objective credit knowledge reduces the likelihood of engaging in both risky paying and borrowing behaviors.

Good days, bad days Do sacrifices improve relationship quality?

We utilized interdependence theory and conservation of resources to understand how relational sacrifices and hassles impact positive relationship quality constructs (i.e., satisfaction, closeness, and commitment) in romantic relationships (N = 164 couples; 328 individuals). Using daily diary data to examine actor and partner effects, we found that individuals’ sacrifices were positively linked with their own commitment but not with satisfaction or closeness. We also found that hassles were negatively linked with one’s own and one’s partner’s satisfaction and closeness but not with commitment. When examined together, sacrifices remained beneficial for one’s own commitment but only when increased sacrifices occurred on days with low hassles. We discuss the unique pathways of sacrifices and hassles, both on their own and considered together.

Ethnic Minority Youth in Youth Programs: Feelings of Safety, Relationships with Adult Staff, and Perceptions of Learning Social Skills.

The authors examine perceptions that young people hold regarding their participation in community-based youth programs. Specifically, this study assesses young people’s sense of psychological safety, their relationships with adult staff, their learning of social skills, and how different ethnic groups experience these factors. Data for the study come from a national evaluation study of youth programs. Participants in this study include 272 White, 100 Asian or Pacific Islander, 61 African American, and 57 Hispanic youth. The results indicate that African American youth are more likely to feel psychologically safe and to have positive relationships with adult staff compared to the other youth. In addition, with the exception of African American youth, the associations between feeling safe and having positive relationships with adult staff and perception of learning social skills were significantly related. The possible explanations of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Financial Adaptation Among College Students: Helping Students Cope with Financial Strain

This study examines the impact of the recent financial crisis on co-occurring patterns of change in financial strain and financial coping behaviors of college students (N=748) using two-timed, longitudinal data collected prior to the 2008 financial crisis and again one year later. Using a stress and coping framework, we found that different measures of perceived change in financial strain acted as antecedents of change in types of financial coping behaviors. We discuss the importance of these findings in developing the financial decision-making skills that young adults need in an era of increasing responsibility for their financial future.