Promoting Financial Literacy for Homeless Teens Through a Leisure-Based OT Program

Abstract

Date Presented 04/04/19 This pretest-posttest quasi-experimental pilot investigation used a client-centered outcomes measure, Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), to identify gains achieved following attendance to OT sessions focused on financial literacy for teens living in a homeless shelter. The teens collaborated with graduate OT students to develop goals and then identified the self-perceived gains following participation in the group sessions. Primary Author and Speaker: Anna Shaver Additional Authors and Speakers: Ani Abrahamian, Kelsey Baskovich, Celeste Li Contributing Authors: Elisabeth Russ, Winifred Schultz-Krohn

Financial Acumen Improves After Financial Literacy Training in Individuals With Substance Use Disorder

“…It is suggested that OTs use a validated measure such as the Financial Knowledge Scale (Bajaj & Kaur, 2021) to determine the participants’ financial knowledge. The Goal Attainment Scale can also be used to measure individual gains in financial literacy (Shaver et al, 2019). The financial literacy program can be provided in weekly sessions focusing on instruction in specific financial literacy skills and then applying those skills in a client-centered life skills activity like cooking, banking, or leisure pursuit.…”

“…The study had a limited sample size, but the participants reported that the two skills they gained included creating a monthly budget and prioritizing necessary versus optional spending (Gardner et al, 2019). Leisure-based activities were used by occupational therapists in two quasi-experimental studies to help 12- to 17-year-old homeless adolescents acquire financial literacy skills, four in one study, and five in another (Schultz-Krohn et al, 2018; Shaver et al, 2019). Participants in these low-powered studies demonstrated improvement in financial acumen following participation in an OT group as measured using the Goal Attainment Scale (Schultz-Krohn et al, 2018; Shaver et al, 2019).…”

“…Leisure-based activities were used by occupational therapists in two quasi-experimental studies to help 12- to 17-year-old homeless adolescents acquire financial literacy skills, four in one study, and five in another (Schultz-Krohn et al, 2018; Shaver et al, 2019). Participants in these low-powered studies demonstrated improvement in financial acumen following participation in an OT group as measured using the Goal Attainment Scale (Schultz-Krohn et al, 2018; Shaver et al, 2019). These low-powered studies provided initial evidence of gains in financial literacy following participation in OT group sessions that provided initial instruction in financial literacy skills (Schultz-Krohn et al, 2018; Shaver et al, 2019).…”

“…Participants in these low-powered studies demonstrated improvement in financial acumen following participation in an OT group as measured using the Goal Attainment Scale (Schultz-Krohn et al, 2018; Shaver et al, 2019). These low-powered studies provided initial evidence of gains in financial literacy following participation in OT group sessions that provided initial instruction in financial literacy skills (Schultz-Krohn et al, 2018; Shaver et al, 2019).…”