The affluenza epidemic: consequences of parent-child value congruence in a material world

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to offer a theoretical explanation for the perpetuation of materialistic values among adolescents. In a recent survey by the Pew Research Center (2019), adolescents in America say that having a lot of money is more important to them in their future than getting married or having children. This research answers the call for a theoretical explanation for the perpetuation of materialistic values among adolescents. Using person–environment fit (P-E fit) theory, this study argues that it is not the content of the values, but rather the fit between a person’s value priorities and the values prevailing in the environment which is crucial to well-being.Design/methodology/approachA national online panel was used to collect cross-sectional survey data from 278 families (adolescents aged 13–18 and their parents).FindingsFindings indicate that adolescents in congruent value households express significantly greater life satisfaction and less depressed mood than adolescents in conflict value households. In fact, materialistic adolescents living in materialistic households expressed the greatest life satisfaction, a finding which contrasts with the current claims that materialism uniformly causes anxiety and depressed mood.Research limitations/implicationsTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to test person–environment fit theory in the context of the family and to offer this theory as a viable explanation of affluenza among America’s youth. The results of this study support the P-E fit theory and suggest that materialism is not universally associated with negative well-being, but rather that adolescents’ well-being is a function of the congruency of an adolescent’s values to his/her family environment.Social implicationsWhile materialistic socialization within the family does enhance the well-being of adolescents temporarily, it may also set adolescents up for a lifetime of harmful expectations from the pursuit money. A consistent pattern of overconsumption as a reward to adolescents may later produce materialistic adults who suffer from financial difficulties and mental health disorders. Disproportionate consumption further leads to environmental pollution.Originality/valueNo study to date has examined the impact of value congruence in the household (parent-child), as it pertains to the development of materialism in adolescents and its effects on adolescents’ well-being. This study suggests that highly materialistic adolescents can experience happiness from the pursuit of consumption. This offers insight into how a value deemed as detrimental as materialism continues to permeate in our society.