Which Students are More Likely to Experience Financial Socialization Opportunities? Exploring the Relationship Between Financial Behaviors and Financial Well-Being of College Students

Michael Gutter, Zeynep Copur, Selena T. Garrison
2009 Social Science Research Network  
This study explores the relationship between financial social learning opportunities and financial behaviors of college students. Data was collected from current college students age 18 and over throughout the United States during spring and fall of 2008. Results suggest important relationships exist among financial social learning opportunities, financial dispositions, and financial behaviors. Socialization is the process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, skills, and dispositions
more » ... enable them to participate more or less as effective members of groups and society (Brim, 1966; McNeal, 1987; Moschis, 1981) . Socialization is often viewed as a social process by which norms, attitudes, motivations, and behaviors are transmitted from specific sources (commonly known as socialization agents) to the learner (Hira, 1997; McLeod, O'Keefe 1972) . Socialization begins in childhood in our society and continues, to some extent, throughout life (McNeal, 1987; Moschis, 1985 Moschis, , 1987 . Children who emulate their parents' behavior through observations provide a good example of social learning. The basis of social learning is that people can learn from others by observing and modeling their behavior, attitudes, and emotional reactions (Bandura, 1977) . Bandura (1977) indicates that modeling can teach new behaviors by a faster and more efficient means and increase the frequency of similar behavior. Therefore, he suggests that parents and teachers must behave appropriately. Ward (1974) points out "socialization is a process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to their effective functioning as consumers in the marketplace." Some researchers have extended that definition to include acquiring and developing values, attitudes, norms, skills, behaviors, motives and knowledge which are related to consumption and family financial management (Rettig and Mortenson, 1986) . However, financial socialization is much more inclusive than learning to effectively function in the marketplace. It is the process by which young people acquire and develop values, attitudes, standards, norms, knowledge, and behaviors that contribute to their financial skills and understanding (Cohen and Xiao
doi:10.2139/ssrn.1432523 fatcat:3c5vb42jxrbvtasajhykvojqwm