Financial Socialization of College Students: Domain-General and Domain-Specific Perspectives

Abstract

This study investigated the association of domain-general and domain-specific parenting practices with college students’ financial attitudes and behaviors. Data came from a survey of college students (n = 585, 156 males) aged 19–32 attending a Midwestern University. Parents’ financial behaviors significantly predicted college students’ financial attitudes. Path analysis indicated that college students’ financial attitudes mediated the association between their perceptions of parents’ financial behaviors and their own financial behaviors. Parental avoidance of financial conversation was inversely associated with college students’ financial attitudes, and parental disclosure of financial information was positively associated with college students’ financial attitudes. Family communication pattern significantly predicted college students’ financial attitudes and moderated the association between parents’ financial behaviors and college students’ financial attitudes. These findings underscore the importance of examining both domain-general and domain-specific parenting practices in socialization and indicate that parental explicit financial communication may amplify or attenuate the influence of parental modeling.