Personality Factors, Money Attitudes, Financial Knowledge, and Credit‐Card Debt in College Students¹

Abstract

The issue of credit-card debt among college students has received increasing attention. This study explored factors hypothesized to be causes and effects of credit-card debt in 448 students on five college campuses. Students reported an average of $1,035 (SD 5 $1,849) in debt, including students without credit cards or credit-card debt. Lack of financial knowledge, age, number of credit cards, delay of gratification, and attitudes toward credit-card use were related to debt. Sensation seeking, materialism, the Student Attitude Toward Debt scale, gender, and grade point average were not unique predictors of debt. Students reporting greater debt reported greater stress and decreased financial well being. Results highlight the need for comprehensive financial literacy education among college students.Credit-card debt among college students has become an increasing concern in recent years. Newspapers and magazines cover the topic on a regular basis, and legislators seek ways to stem the tide of indebted students. Although there is a great deal of data indicating that students are in debt, little is known about why students fall into debt. The present study explores the relative weight of personality factors, attitudes toward money and possessions, and financial knowledge as predictors of credit-card debt among college students.

Health-related characteristics and incurring credit card debt as problem behaviors among college students

“…For example, we found that women and older students are more likely to have credit card debt, which has been documented by prior work. (6,7) However, other work has also found no gender differences (2,5) or, in contradiction to our findings, that men are more likely to have credit card debt. (6) Thus, findings regarding gender differences in relation to credit card debt continue to be equivocal.…”

Health-related characteristics and incurring credit card debt as problem behaviors among college students

“…For example, we found that women and older students are more likely to have credit card debt, which has been documented by prior work. (6,7) However, other work has also found no gender differences (2,5) or, in contradiction to our findings, that men are more likely to have credit card debt. (6) Thus, findings regarding gender differences in relation to credit card debt continue to be equivocal.…”

Analysis of Factors Affecting Individuals’ Online Consumer Credit Behavior: Evidence From China

“…When one holds a more positive view of online consumer credit, he/she is more likely to use it, which proves that online consumer credit is affected by individuals’ intrinsic motivation. This is consistent with the research findings of Norvilitis et al (2006) . They state that young adults who lack financial knowledge are more likely to be overburdened with debt.…”

The impact of attitude variables on the credit debt behavior

“…For money attitude, only the retention dimension was selected by the regression function. Our result was consistent with extant literature that retention was negatively related to the frequency of petty installment use (Tokunaga, 1993; Norvilitis et al , 2003, 2006). Just as we mentioned that people who scored highly on retention normally had a good plan for their life and expenses (Yamauchi and Templer, 1982).…”

Health-related characteristics and incurring credit card debt as problem behaviors among college students

“…For example, we found that women and older students are more likely to have credit card debt, which has been documented by prior work. (6,7) However, other work has also found no gender differences (2,5) or, in contradiction to our findings, that men are more likely to have credit card debt. (6) Thus, findings regarding gender differences in relation to credit card debt continue to be equivocal.…”

Analysis of Factors Affecting Individuals’ Online Consumer Credit Behavior: Evidence From China

“…When one holds a more positive view of online consumer credit, he/she is more likely to use it, which proves that online consumer credit is affected by individuals’ intrinsic motivation. This is consistent with the research findings of Norvilitis et al (2006) . They state that young adults who lack financial knowledge are more likely to be overburdened with debt.…”

The impact of attitude variables on the credit debt behavior

“…For money attitude, only the retention dimension was selected by the regression function. Our result was consistent with extant literature that retention was negatively related to the frequency of petty installment use (Tokunaga, 1993; Norvilitis et al , 2003, 2006). Just as we mentioned that people who scored highly on retention normally had a good plan for their life and expenses (Yamauchi and Templer, 1982).…”

Health-related characteristics and incurring credit card debt as problem behaviors among college students

“…For example, we found that women and older students are more likely to have credit card debt, which has been documented by prior work. (6,7) However, other work has also found no gender differences (2,5) or, in contradiction to our findings, that men are more likely to have credit card debt. (6) Thus, findings regarding gender differences in relation to credit card debt continue to be equivocal.…”

Analysis of Factors Affecting Individuals’ Online Consumer Credit Behavior: Evidence From China

“…When one holds a more positive view of online consumer credit, he/she is more likely to use it, which proves that online consumer credit is affected by individuals’ intrinsic motivation. This is consistent with the research findings of Norvilitis et al (2006) . They state that young adults who lack financial knowledge are more likely to be overburdened with debt.…”

The impact of attitude variables on the credit debt behavior

“…For money attitude, only the retention dimension was selected by the regression function. Our result was consistent with extant literature that retention was negatively related to the frequency of petty installment use (Tokunaga, 1993; Norvilitis et al , 2003, 2006). Just as we mentioned that people who scored highly on retention normally had a good plan for their life and expenses (Yamauchi and Templer, 1982).…”