development within the larger transitional period because most college students are not yet financially independent but are actively learning the skills needed to be financially independent. Furthermore, they perceive this independence as key to achieving adult status (Arnett 2004).It would seem, then, that they would be keenly dis- criminating when choosing how to think about money and how to manage it. Yet, while some young adults in college do learn to manage their money well, many others adopt risky behaviors, overspending their budgets, accruing excessive credit-card debt and failing to pay off debts on time. To better understand why this is so, in this study we examine several socialization processes, including those processes that occur during adolescence and may account for the differences in financial efficacy.Historically, sociologists and demographers havedefined a particular set of crucial events as markers on the path to adulthood: finishing school, starting a full-time job, leaving one’s parental home, marrying, and becoming a parent. In the past several decades, researchers have found that the timing and sequence of these role transitions have changed, with the period from childhood into the mid-1920s being marked by much individual and cultural var- iability in when and how these role changes are managed (Furstenberg et al. 2005; Fussell and Furstenberg 2005; Hendry and Kloep 2007; Shanahan 2000). As a result, certain qualities of self-sufficiency, such as taking personal responsibility for one’s actions and making autonomous decisions, along with becoming financially independent, may be more salient markers of adulthood (Arnett 2004; Hendry and Kloep 2007). For this reason, then, in the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, individu- als must acquire the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes needed to become self-sufficient.Although in difficult economic times, and for disad- vantaged youth, it may be especially precarious, financial independence is a particularly discernible marker of self sufficiency, and young adults who are, even temporarily, financially independent of their family of origin are more likely to view themselves as adults than are those who are not independent (Shanahan et al. 2005). However, oppor- tunities for financial independence are not distributed equally, and for many without adequate social or human capital, the pathways to self-sufficiency may be long and frustrating. For some, the foundation for these aspects of autonomy will be laid down during the college years, and in this study we focus specifically on the emergence of financial efficacy during the period in which college stu- dents adjust to living away from home.Part of the pathway to financial independence requires that college students perform healthy financial behaviors. According to recent research that led to the development of the Student Financial Well-being Model (Shim et al. 2009), those college students with stronger intentions to perform positive financial behaviors and who reported higher levels of perceived control over their personal finances were more satisfied with their financial status and less likely to incur debt. This financial well-being was, in turn, positively associated with academic success, physical health, psycho- logical health, and overall life satisfaction (Xiao et al. 2008). These results highlight the importance of understanding the socialization processes and factors linked to young adults’ positive financial behaviors. Building upon the Student Financial Well-being Model (Shim et al. 2009), the current study tests a conceptual model of financial socialization with the assumption that if we can better understand the financial development process originating from earlier socialization during adolescence, we can better explain the factors that influence students’ financial and overall well-being.First-year College Students and Transitional FinancialBehaviors
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