A robust body of research provides evidence of a strong connection between identity development and age-related functioning. A sense of financial identity may be an important precursor of adult self-sufficiency. For this reason, the study of financial identity (i.e., the answer to the question "Who am I from a financial point of view?") as a domain-specific component of identity development during the transition to adulthood is a timely and important topic worldwide. In order to properly investigate the financial identity domain, a reliable and valid instrument is needed. The aim of the current study is to test both a variable-centered model and a person-centered model of the 12-item Financial Identity Scale in an international sample of 4,960 emerging adults from ten different countries: Austria, Finland, Hungary, India, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and the United States. The variable-centered model of the Financial Identity Scale suggests that the 12 items measure four latent factors, each corresponding to a different identity status: achievement, foreclosure, diffusion, and moratorium. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this model in seven out of ten countries, and approximate measurement invariance indicated that Financial Identity Scale scores were comparable across these countries. The person-centered model of the Financial Identity Scale suggests that the four statuses of financial identity present three different configurations in the population: pathfinders, followers, and drifters. The latent profile analysis conducted in the current study identified four distinct profiles, the first three of which correspond to those in the original model, and a fourth which was labelled "Indecisive". Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The present study tested the Gudmunson and Danes (2011) family financial socialization model (FFSM) using three waves of longitudinal data gathered from a college cohort of emerging adults in the United States. Specifically, we aimed to test the validity of this model in emerging adulthood (Aim 1), to verify whether the effect of the parent's socialization on a child's end financial outcome is mediated by intermediary financial outcomes (Aim 2), and to verify whether the effects found when testing the FFSM are stable across time points (Aim 3). Our findings indicate that of eight paths in the model between family socialization processes and financial socialization outcomes, seven paths were significant, thereby lending support for the validity of FFSM in emerging adulthood (Aim 1). Second, we found no mediation effects of parental financial socialization on emerging adult financial behavior and well-being via the internalization of parents' beliefs, values, and practices (Aim 2). We offer plausible explanations for this result. Last, we verified that the financial socialization processes and their effects are generally invariant across the beginning, the middle, and the end of the emerging adulthood (Aim 3). We interpret our findings in the context of the extant literature on emerging adults' transition to adult independence and provide insights for practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Because finances play an important part in managing the demands of adult social roles, we investigate the formation of financial identity and its association with perceived adult status. Drawing from Marcia's (1966) operationalization of four identity statuses (i.e., foreclosed, achieved, diffused, moratorium) and adapted to the financial domain, we performed Latent Transition Analysis (LTA) using longitudinal data gathered from a cohort of college students in the United States at four time points (N = 672) covering an eight-year period (2008-2016). A key study finding is empirical directional evidence of financial identity as a predictor of adult status. In addition, findings show that, over time, individuals commit more strongly to a certain financial identity, which may in turn factor significantly in the process of achieving adult self-sufficiency. Finally, we distinguish three distinct financial identity profiles based on the way that participants made decisions related to financial matters during the transition to adulthood.

The aim of the study is to investigate how 2,084 U.S. college-educated young adults (61.9% female, and 69.5% non-Hispanic White) navigated the goal attainment process during the transition to adulthood. Using four-wave data collected across eight years, we examined how financial behaviors (self-regulating behaviors) predicted both depressive symptoms (affective goal attainment evaluations) and financial obstacles to goal attainment (cognitive goal attainment evaluations) via financial satisfaction (resources). Given the variability in developmental trajectories (i.e., initial levels and rates of over-time changes) among young adults, we conducted an exploratory mediational analysis with Latent Change Scores. The results revealed indirect-only mediation patterns, and 8 of 16 (50%) indirect effects via financial satisfaction were statistically significant. Collectively, we identified the salient roles of financial behaviors and financial satisfaction among young adults who pursued and attained life goals amid the financial difficulties during the 2007-2009 Great Recession. Our findings should be informative for promoting desired development among the current generation of young adults who were pursuing goals during the financial recession, primarily by indicating the necessity in implementing financial education and providing financial resources for young adults.

Using expectancy-value theory as a framework, we examined the independent effects of both early parental and personal financial expectations and values on emerging adults’ later financial behaviors and financial well-being during the college-to-career transition. Data were collected at three time points over 8 years from a cohort of college-educated emerging adults ( N = 754 participants from a larger longitudinal study). The main finding showed that emerging adults’ personal expectations and values, but not parental values or expectations, predicted the financial behaviors they practiced in college; early parental expectations predicted financial well-being after leaving college. The financial behaviors practiced in college were associated with subsequent financial well-being. Finally, college financial behavior mediated the effect of early personal values on subsequent financial well-being, but not personal financial expectations. We discuss the findings in regard to facilitating emerging adults college-to-career transition.

This study sought to determine whether the levels of financial satisfaction reported by college undergraduates and graduates differ in relation to whether they funded their college education by working or borrowing or a combination of the two. Data for this study came from a survey sample of full-time freshmen that formed the basis of a longitudinal study conducted at a large public university. Funding sources examined were grouped into those who worked only, those who borrowed only, those who worked and borrowed, and those who used grants, scholarships, or other sources of money to fund their college education. Compared to those who had student loans, those who had financed college with grants, scholarships, or other money (usually from family and/or friends) were more likely to report greater financial satisfaction than those who had used student loans to pay for college. There was evidence that this was only true during college rather than after college. The results obtained suggest that merely possessing a student loan may not necessarily decrease the level of financial satisfaction as many suspect, especially considering other funding alternatives such as working during college. While there was no significant impact of these funding strategies on financial satisfaction either during or after college, there was evidence for possible thresholds at which overall student loan balances may begin to erode financial satisfaction. The results obtained suggest that student loans may not decrease the level of financial satisfaction as much as many have suspected when compared with working to pay for college, as long as the amount of the student loan is not excessive, and is not accompanied by other types of debt (which also reduced financial satisfaction).

Whereas problematic finances can undermine relationship satisfaction, a sense of shared financial values may bolster relationship satisfaction; thus, it is important to understand how to promote couples' shared financial values. In this study, we examined the association of individuals' perceptions regarding their own and their partners' positive financial behaviors on shared financial values. Using survey data from a young adult cohort of college graduates, participants of the Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) study, we found that participants' perceptions of their own positive financial behaviors, and their perceptions of the positive financial behaviors of their partners, were each associated with increased shared financial values. Results suggest that practitioners could help individuals recognize that improving their own financial behaviors and also appreciating their partner's positive financial behaviors contribute to couples' shared financial values.

Using longitudinal data and a cross-lagged, multigroup panel design, we examined unidirectional and bidirectional relationships between financial parenting and young adults' financial self-efficacy during the transition to adulthood. Because increasing college costs and student loan debt have changed the financial landscape of achieving higher education, we examined effects over time under 2 distinct conditions: a debt-financed college education and a debt-free college education. Analyses included the effects of 2 types of financial parenting: implicit role modeling and explicit communication. The sample was drawn from the Arizona Pathways to Life Success (APLUS) project, a cohort study of college students enrolled full time at a public university in the fall of 2007. Participants provided data at 3 time points across 5 years. The sample included 850 student loan borrowers and 800 nonborrowers. We found unidirectional patterns for both nonborrowers and borrowers depending on the type of financial parenting: Parents' explicit financial communication before college predicted higher levels of financial self-efficacy during freshman year for nonborrowers, whereas parents' implicit modeling before college predicted higher levels of financial self-efficacy during freshman year for borrowers. Financial self-efficacy led to less frequent explicit parental financial communication for nonborrowers after college but was associated with more frequent explicit parental financial communication during college for borrowers. Our findings suggest that explicit communication regarding basic finance principles is likely sufficient to support financial self-efficacy in a debt-free context, whereas observing parents' responsible financial behaviors may be beneficial for young adults who incur student loan debt. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Using longitudinal data collected from a college cohort in the United States (N = 922), we examined the associations between systemic and structural factors (gender, race/ethnicity, family SES, and first-generation college status), financial parenting (teaching, and modeling behavior), and emerging adults' financial behavior. We conducted a series of one-way repeated measure ANOVA analyses (GLM) to assess patterns of average change in financial parenting and financial behavior in the first year in college, fourth year in college, and two years after college and found evidence suggestive of recentering-a gradual transfer of responsibility during emerging adulthood from parent-directed behavior to self-directed behavior; however, the decline in financial parenting was not offset by an improvement in emerging adults' financial behavior. Despite similar patterns of change, family socioeconomic status (SES), first-generation college student status, and gender influenced both financial parenting and financial behaviors at each time point. We discuss the findings and the implications on the timing and length of the recentering process.

Guided by the Vulnerability-Adaption-Stress model (Karney and Bradbury 1995), we used data from 635 college-educated young adults to examine associations between romantic attachment orientations (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and young adults' life outcomes (i.e., financial satisfaction, life satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction; Aim 1). We also conducted a mediating model to examine indirect associations from romantic attachment orientations to life outcomes via young adult's own financial behaviors and perceived partners' financial behavior (i.e., each young adult's perception of their partner's financial behaviors; Aim 2). For Aim 1, high attachment anxiety and/or high attachment avoidance was associated with low life satisfaction and low relationship satisfaction. For Aim 2, high attachment anxiety was associated with low financial satisfaction and low life satisfaction via young adults' own less responsible financial behaviors. Further for Aim 2, high attachment anxiety and high attachment avoidance were associated with low relationship satisfaction via perceived partners' less responsible financial behavior. Across these two aims, we found that romantic attachment orientations were associated with financial behaviors and, in turn, life outcomes. We suggest researchers and practitioners consider romantic attachment orientations when seeking to understand and improve financial behaviors and life outcomes among young adults.

We applied goal-framing theory to determine whether there were discernible patterns in emerging adults’ financial behavior from college to career and whether those patterns were associated with progress toward self-sufficiency. Using longitudinal data collected over 5 years from a college cohort of emerging adults ( N = 968) in the United States, we estimated latent growth curve models and identified three financial-behavior patterns suggestive of the overarching motivations in the theory: planful (gain), present focused (hedonic), and socially compliant (normative). Using multinomial logistic regression analysis, we found that higher perceived financial control, more positive financial attitudes, higher perceived parental expectations, and more exposure to financial education were predictive of a gain pattern. Analyses of variance showed that the gain financial-behavior pattern was associated with the most progress toward self-sufficiency (adult stability, career status, and well-being). We discuss the findings as they pertain to the connection between emerging adults’ financial behavior and progress toward self-sufficiency.

We examined whether various types of financial learning activities affect young adults’ objective financial knowledge and financial behavior and if so, whether different types of such activities lead to different outcomes. Using three waves of longitudinal data collected from the same participants over 5 years, we assessed financial behaviors as well as associations with objective financial knowledge and various sources of financial learning among 640 young adults. We empirically evaluated direct and mediation effects between financial learning activities and financial behaviors. The results from our multilevel mediation regression model revealed significant differences in financial behaviors depending on the type of financial learning activity a participant experienced. Meeting with a financial advisor; reading personal finance books, magazines, and websites; having parents as financial role models; and gaining objective financial knowledge were all associated with positive financial behaviors. In contrast, attending workshops and seminars was associated with negative financial behaviors. Formal classroom learning in college had no effect on financial behaviors. Our analysis further indicated that financial knowledge played an important role in improving financial behaviors, significantly mediating the association between voluntary learning or nonvoluntary learning activities and financial behaviors.

In this study, we examined (1) the effect of changes in outstanding student debt on trajectories of subjective financial well-being (SFWB) over time and (2) how these trajectories vary according to family socioeconomic and emerging adult financial factors. We used three waves of longitudinal data from the Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) study and used growth curve models to analyze the data. Net of family socioeconomic and emerging adult financial factors, student debt was significantly and negatively associated with SFWB across the emerging adult period. Trajectories of SFWB varied slightly in relation to changes in student debt. Between-person differences in debt mattered more for trajectories of SFWB relative to within-person changes in debt over time. Family socioeconomic factors had a strong influence on SFWB trajectories. Findings illustrate how student debt may suppress postsecondary education’s impact as an inequality reducing mechanism. They also suggest the need for both individual- and policy-level intervention.

BACKGROUND:Emerging adulthood is a life stage with elevated risk for both mental disorders and financial distress. Although a positive link between financial stress and depressive symptoms has been identified, there is a lack of delineation on the temporal dynamics of this link spanning the entire stage of emerging adulthood (roughly ages 18 to 29). METHODS:Using a statistical approach that partitions between-person from within-person variation and based on four waves of data from a college cohort (N = 2,098) throughout emerging adulthood, this study addresses this gap. RESULTS:Latent growth curve model analyses indicate that the trajectory of financial stress throughout emerging adulthood followed an inverted "U" shape, whereas that of depressive symptoms displayed a linear, decreasing trend. The positive correlations of both intercepts and slopes between financial stress and depressive symptoms indicated a co-development pattern. Classical, cross-lagged panel model analyses (i.e., a model aggregating between-person and within-person variation) demonstrated a reciprocal positive association between financial stress and depressive symptoms across waves. Random intercept, cross-lagged panel model analyses (i.e., a model disaggregating between-person and within-person effects) indicated a unidirectional positive within-person effect from depressive symptoms to financial stress across waves, controlling for between-person effects. LIMITATIONS:Shared-method and shared-informant variance may inflate the identified associations, and the correlational data precludes casual inferences. CONCLUSION:Improving young adults' mental well-being, specifically intervening depressive symptoms, could be an avenue for reducing their financial stress. Future research is pressing to examine mechanisms via which depression symptoms manifest as financial stress during transition to adulthood.

This study examined potential impacts of financial resources and values on emerging adults' choice in committed relationships (N = 424, 26-35 years). Guided by Deacon and Firebaugh's (1988) Family Resource Management theory, financial self-sufficiency and forming a committed relationship were conceptualized as two salient goals of emerging adulthood. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the effects of financial self-sufficiency, values, and personal background factors on choice of committed relationship status. Findings indicated that emerging adults with fewer financial resources chose to live apart; however, the effects of career values were a stronger predictor of their relationship status. In contrast, neither financial resources nor career values differentiated between cohabiting and married emerging adults.

We examined how subjective and objective financial knowledge were associated with relationship satisfaction through pathways of finance-related rewards (positive financial behaviors, perceived shared financial values with the romantic partner, or lower debt) in a sample of cohabiting or married young adults (N=162). We used Waves 2, 3, and 4 of the Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) study to conduct path analyses. No pathways were significant in longitudinal models. In the cross-sectional models (Wave 4), we found individuals' own subjective (but not objective) financial knowledge was associated with relationship satisfaction. This association was indirect in the model with perceived shared financial values, demonstrating that shared financial values with the romantic partner may be a key mechanism linking financial knowledge to improved relationship quality.

This study investigated how young adults’ (N = 31) perceptions of family financial socialization processes and experiences influenced their definition and understanding of financial well-being. Coding and analysis followed Gilgun et al. (Qualitative methods in family research, Sage, Newbury Park, 1992) pattern-matching approach of analytical induction. The financial socialization processes dimension of Gudmunson and Danes (J Fam Econ Issues, 32:644–667, 2011) Family Financial Socialization (FFS) theory guided confirmation or refutation of theoretical constructs used to organize young adults’ (M = 24 years) personal reflections and interpretations of financial well-being. Findings confirmed current FFS theory constructs while extending the theory by adding the concept of cognitive interpretations of finances and financial well-being (anticipatory socialization) with an accompanying hypothesis. Thus, greater conceptual precision is provided about the connective link between the family’s financial socialization processes and the individual’s development of personal financial dispositions.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine young consumers' financial behavior (e.g. saving) and pro-environmental behavior (i.e. reduced consumption and green buying) as effective proactive strategies undertaken in the present to satisfy materialistic values and maximize well-being. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on an online survey among a panel of young American adults (N = 968). Findings The study finds a positive effect of materialism on personal well-being and negative effects on financial satisfaction, proactive financial coping and reduced consumption, but no effect on green buying, a separate and distinct pro-environmental strategy. Both proactive financial coping and reduced consumption are positively associated with subjective well-being. Research limitations/implications - Future research should re-examine conceptualizations of materialism in the context of climate change and the meaning of possessions in the global digital economy; studies could also focus on the specific well-being effects of reduced consumption and alternative pathways to align materialistic and environmental values. Practical implications - Consumer education should look to models of financial education to demonstrate how limited natural resources can be managed at the micro level to enhance consumers' subjective well-being, as well as reduce resource strain at the macro level. Originality/value Key contributions are the examination of materialism and consumption in the dual contexts of financial and environmental resource constraints and the effects of these key macro-social phenomena on consumers' perceived well-being. Another study highlight is the differentiation of two strategies for proactive environmental coping, of which only one, reduced consumption, increased personal well-being and decreased psychological distress.