Impact of school financial education on parental saving socialization in Hong Kong adolescents

Abstract

Adolescents use consumption behavior to demonstrate their independence and construct their self-identities. Healthy saving behavior enables the accumulation of money, which helps with critical consumption decisions and establishes financial confidence as these adolescents develop into adults. This study administered a financial education program to a sample of Hong Kong adolescents and tested a parental saving socialization model before and after this intervention. Results showed that the effectiveness of parental saving activity, namely parental saving norms, did not significantly differ between the experimental and control groups before the intervention. Parental saving norms promoted healthy saving behavior by encouraging self-control. There is no significant direct link from parental saving norms to healthy saving behavior. However, after financial intervention, this link became significant and positive, indicating school financial course promoted the effectiveness of parental saving socialization. This new finding adds new knowledge to the framework of parental financial socialization.