Family Communication, Resources, and Income in Adolescence and Financial Behaviors in Young Adulthood

Written By: Julie M. Szendrey and Laci A. Fiala

This research examined how parental communication and family resources provided during adolescence relate to domain-specific financial management behaviors for a sample of 1,245 young adults age 18 to 34. Using data collected by an online survey administration organization, bivariate analysis results indicated that higher levels of parental communication about proper consumer skills and tangible and intangible family resources were associated with better financial behaviors. Financial behaviors were also found to vary significantly across different levels of family income. Multivariate regression analyses revealed two noteworthy interactions in which intangible resources and financial behaviors varied by level of family income. Better financial behaviors in adulthood were associated with more intangible resources for middle- and upper-income families during adolescence. The reverse was indicated for young adults from lower income families. Control variables of education level, employment status, and gender also showed significance with financial behaviors.