Family financial socialization during emerging adulthood: Insights from a cross-lagged panel model.

The present study tested the Gudmunson and Danes (2011) family financial socialization model (FFSM) using three waves of longitudinal data gathered from a college cohort of emerging adults in the United States. Specifically, we aimed to test the validity of this model in emerging adulthood (Aim 1), to verify whether the effect of the parent's socialization on a child's end financial outcome is mediated by intermediary financial outcomes (Aim 2), and to verify whether the effects found when testing the FFSM are stable across time points (Aim 3). Our findings indicate that of eight paths in the model between family socialization processes and financial socialization outcomes, seven paths were significant, thereby lending support for the validity of FFSM in emerging adulthood (Aim 1). Second, we found no mediation effects of parental financial socialization on emerging adult financial behavior and well-being via the internalization of parents' beliefs, values, and practices (Aim 2). We offer plausible explanations for this result. Last, we verified that the financial socialization processes and their effects are generally invariant across the beginning, the middle, and the end of the emerging adulthood (Aim 3). We interpret our findings in the context of the extant literature on emerging adults' transition to adult independence and provide insights for practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Employment Disruption and Wellbeing Among Young Adults: A Cross-National Study of Perceived Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown.

Young adulthood (18-30 years old) is a crucial period due to its developmental tasks such as career establishment and financial independence. However, young adults' relative lack of resources makes them vulnerable to employment disruptions (job loss and income loss), which may have both immediate and long-term effects on their financial wellbeing and mental health. The economic impact of COVID-19 restrictions resulted in an increase in unemployment and a decrease in income worldwide, especially for young adults. This study examined to what extent and how job loss and income loss due to the pandemic influenced young adults' perception of their present financial wellbeing, future financial wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing by using cross-sectional survey data collected from six countries (China, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and the United States). Results showed that the impact of income loss and job loss on all three types of wellbeing were mediated by young adults' negative perception of the COVID-19 lockdown restriction (i.e., perceived as a misfortune). Cross-country differences existed in the key variables. The association between employment disruptions, young adults' perception of the COVID-19 lockdown restriction, and wellbeing were equivalent across countries except China. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Becoming Financially Self-Sufficient: Developing a Need-Supportive and Need-Thwarting Scale for Financial Parenting of Emerging Adults.

The shift in the parent-child relationship during the transition to adulthood presumes that emerging adults progress toward financial self-sufficiency. Research indicates that financial parenting contributes to success in this transition, and these effects extend beyond the financial domain. Nevertheless, there is a lack of theory-based tools to measure relevant financial parenting aspects. By applying the six dimensions of interpersonal behaviors outlined in the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the current study develops a scale targeting the interpersonal style of financial parenting. To validate the scale, it also tests seven preregistered hypotheses predicting internal structure and associations with relevant external variables in a sample of 600 emerging adults (Mage =24.94, SDage = 3.03, range 19-29 years; 52.3% women). The sample, diverse occupational status characteristics, was recruited from an online survey panel using the controlled quota sampling strategy. While study results provide modest evidence for a hypothesized six-factor structure and advocate instead for a more parsimonious two-dimensional one, results provide evidence for the new scale's convergent, discriminant, criterion, and incremental validity. This is the first study that brings SDT into family financial socialization research and opens a new line of research on family financial socialization, achievement of financial self-sufficiency, and emerging adults' wellbeing.

Profiles of emerging adults' resilience facing the negative impact of COVID-19 across six countries.

Although emerging adults (i.e., individuals aged 18-29 years old) may be at a lesser risk of COVID-19 severe illness and mortality, studies have found that the negative impact of COVID-19 on mental health and well-being is higher among emerging adults when compared to other age groups. The current study aimed to identify profile(s) based on resilience resources, which could help emerging adults in managing the disruptions to their lives following the pandemic. A cross-national sample of 1,768 emerging adults from China, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, and the US was utilized to identify profiles based on different resilience dimensions (ego-resiliency, positivity, religiosity, socioeconomic status, family support, peer support). Results of the Latent Profile Analysis suggest the presence of four different profiles: no resources, only peer, only family, and well-equipped. The association of these profiles with demographic variables, adulthood markers, self-perceived COVID-19 impact, present well-being, and future life perception was investigated. Implications for resilience theory as well as for future interventions are discussed. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03658-y.

How culturally unique are pandemic effects? Evaluating cultural similarities and differences in effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on COVID impacts.

Despite being bio-epidemiological phenomena, the causes and effects of pandemics are culturally influenced in ways that go beyond national boundaries. However, they are often studied in isolated pockets, and this fact makes it difficult to parse the unique influence of specific cultural psychologies. To help fill in this gap, the present study applies existing cultural theories via linear mixed modeling to test the influence of unique cultural factors in a multi-national sample (that moves beyond Western nations) on the effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on pandemic outcomes that include adverse financial impacts, adverse resource impacts, adverse psychological impacts, and the health impacts of COVID. Our study spanned 19 nations (participant N = 14,133) and involved translations into 9 languages. Linear mixed models revealed similarities across cultures, with both young persons and women reporting worse outcomes from COVID across the multi-national sample. However, these effects were generally qualified by culture-specific variance, and overall more evidence emerged for effects unique to each culture than effects similar across cultures. Follow-up analyses suggested this cultural variability was consistent with models of pre-existing inequalities and socioecological stressors exacerbating the effects of the pandemic. Collectively, this evidence highlights the importance of developing culturally flexible models for understanding the cross-cultural nature of pandemic psychology beyond typical WEIRD approaches.

Temporal dynamics of the association between financial stress and depressive symptoms throughout the emerging adulthood.

BACKGROUND: Emerging adulthood is a life stage with elevated risk for both mental disorders and financial distress. Although a positive link between financial stress and depressive symptoms has been identified, there is a lack of delineation on the temporal dynamics of this link spanning the entire stage of emerging adulthood (roughly ages 18 to 29). METHODS: Using a statistical approach that partitions between-person from within-person variation and based on four waves of data from a college cohort (N = 2,098) throughout emerging adulthood, this study addresses this gap. RESULTS: Latent growth curve model analyses indicate that the trajectory of financial stress throughout emerging adulthood followed an inverted "U" shape, whereas that of depressive symptoms displayed a linear, decreasing trend. The positive correlations of both intercepts and slopes between financial stress and depressive symptoms indicated a co-development pattern. Classical, cross-lagged panel model analyses (i.e., a model aggregating between-person and within-person variation) demonstrated a reciprocal positive association between financial stress and depressive symptoms across waves. Random intercept, cross-lagged panel model analyses (i.e., a model disaggregating between-person and within-person effects) indicated a unidirectional positive within-person effect from depressive symptoms to financial stress across waves, controlling for between-person effects. LIMITATIONS: Shared-method and shared-informant variance may inflate the identified associations, and the correlational data precludes casual inferences. CONCLUSION: Improving young adults' mental well-being, specifically intervening depressive symptoms, could be an avenue for reducing their financial stress. Future research is pressing to examine mechanisms via which depression symptoms manifest as financial stress during transition to adulthood.

Unidirectional and bidirectional relationships between financial parenting and financial self-efficacy: Does student loan status matter?

Using longitudinal data and a cross-lagged, multigroup panel design, we examined unidirectional and bidirectional relationships between financial parenting and young adults' financial self-efficacy during the transition to adulthood. Because increasing college costs and student loan debt have changed the financial landscape of achieving higher education, we examined effects over time under 2 distinct conditions: a debt-financed college education and a debt-free college education. Analyses included the effects of 2 types of financial parenting: implicit role modeling and explicit communication. The sample was drawn from the Arizona Pathways to Life Success (APLUS) project, a cohort study of college students enrolled full time at a public university in the fall of 2007. Participants provided data at 3 time points across 5 years. The sample included 850 student loan borrowers and 800 nonborrowers. We found unidirectional patterns for both nonborrowers and borrowers depending on the type of financial parenting: Parents' explicit financial communication before college predicted higher levels of financial self-efficacy during freshman year for nonborrowers, whereas parents' implicit modeling before college predicted higher levels of financial self-efficacy during freshman year for borrowers. Financial self-efficacy led to less frequent explicit parental financial communication for nonborrowers after college but was associated with more frequent explicit parental financial communication during college for borrowers. Our findings suggest that explicit communication regarding basic finance principles is likely sufficient to support financial self-efficacy in a debt-free context, whereas observing parents' responsible financial behaviors may be beneficial for young adults who incur student loan debt. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Financial Stress and Drinking During the Transition to Adulthood: The Role of Parental Financial Support.

We investigated the concurrent and prospective associations between financial stress and drinking during the transition to adulthood in the United States, drawing from two distinct stress and coping perspectives as competing explanations for the direction of associations: the Transaction Model of Stress (TMS) and the Conservation of Resources (CoR) model. Because many emerging adults rely on continuing financial support from parents, we examined the role of parental support on these associations. We tested these associations using longitudinal structural equation modeling (SEM) with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) (N=9,026) collected at two timepoints: early emerging adulthood (ages 18-26) and five years later. Consistent with CoR, financial stress reduced concurrent drinking. Furthermore, parental financial support reduced adult children's financial stress but increased drinking in early emerging adulthood. We discuss the findings in regards to facilitating the transition to adulthood.

Do day-to-day finances play a role in relationship satisfaction? A dyadic investigation.

Prior researchers have found consistent links between financial issues and relationship outcomes. Yet, because most research is cross-sectional or examines these constructs over longer periods of time (e.g., years), the microlevel processes of how and when these changes occur are unclear. In the present study, we use interdependence theory as a guide to examine the daily fluctuations of financial satisfaction and stress as well as their daily associations with relationship quality in married and unmarried heterosexual couples. Using a dyadic 14-day daily diary research design, we found both financial satisfaction and stress demonstrated significant within-person fluctuations, with women demonstrating greater volatility in financial satisfaction than men. Given that individuals varied in their perceptions of financial satisfaction and stress from day to day, we then examined how these fluctuations were associated with daily relationship satisfaction. We expected financial satisfaction would be positively associated with relationship satisfaction for both actors and partners, whereas financial stress would be negatively associated for both actors and partners. Hypotheses were partially supported. Unmarried women's daily financial satisfaction was associated with increased relationship quality for both themselves (marginal) as well as their partners. An unexpected pattern for unmarried men's financial satisfaction was found; their increased financial satisfaction was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction. Increased financial stress was associated with decreased relationship satisfaction for unmarried men and married women (actor effects). We discuss implications for research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record

Do Community Characteristics Relate to Young Adult College Students' Credit Card Debt? The Hypothesized Role of Collective Institutional Efficacy.

This study examines the extent of emergent, outstanding credit card debt among young adult college students and investigates whether any associations existed between this credit card debt and the characteristics of the communities in which these students grew up or lived. Using data (N = 748) from a longitudinal survey and merging community characteristics measured at the zip code level, we confirmed that a community's unemployment rate, average total debt, average credit score, and number of bank branch offices were associated with a young adult college student's acquisition and accumulation of credit card debt. For example, a community's higher unemployment rate and lower number of bank branches were associated with a young adult college student's greater accumulated debt. Community characteristics had the strongest associations with credit card debt, especially after controlling for individual characteristics (i.e., a young adult college student's race and financial independence) and familial characteristics (i.e., their parents' income and parents' discussions of financial matters while growing up at home). The findings may help to understand the unique roles that communities play in shaping children and young adults' financial capability, and how communities can be better capacitated to support the financial goals of their residents.

Prospective Effects of Family Cohesion on Alcohol-Related Problems in Adolescence: Similarities and Differences by Race/Ethnicity.

Research increasingly finds that race/ethnicity needs to be taken into account in the modelling of associations between protective factors and adolescent drinking behaviors in order to understand family effects and promote positive youth development. The current study examined racial/ethnic variation in the prospective effects of family cohesion on adolescent alcohol-related problems using a nationally representative sample. Data were drawn from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and included 10,992 (50% female) non-Hispanic Asian, non-Hispanic Black, Latino, and non-Hispanic White 7th-12th graders. Consistent with Hirschi's social control theory of youth delinquency, higher levels of family cohesion predicted lower levels of future adolescent alcohol-related problems, independent of race/ethnicity, sex, age, baseline alcohol-related problems, and family socioeconomic status. Findings from moderation analyses indicated that the magnitude of associations differed across groups such that the protective effect of family cohesion was strongest among White adolescents. For Latino adolescents, family cohesion was not associated with alcohol-related problems. Future longitudinal cross-racial/ethnic research is needed on common and unique mechanisms underlying differential associations between family processes and adolescent high-risk drinking. Understanding these processes could help improve preventive interventions, identify vulnerable subgroups, and inform health policy aimed at reducing alcohol-related health disparities.

The Associations of Financial Stress and Parenting Support Factors with Alcohol Behaviors During Young Adulthood.

This study examined concurrent and prospective associations of financial stress (financial strain, lack of financial access, public assistance) and parenting support factors (relationship quality, living at home, financial support) with young adults' alcohol behaviors (alcohol use, heavy drinking, and problematic drinking) over a 5-year period. Analyses of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) data (N = 7,159) showed that, over the study period, alcohol use and heavy drinking declined while problematic drinking increased. In addition, living at home and parental relationship quality were associated with fewer concurrent and prospective alcohol behaviors whereas financial strain and parents' financial support were associated with more alcohol behaviors. The implications for minimizing alcohol misuse in young adults amid uncertain economic conditions are discussed.

Daily hassles and uplifts: a diary study on understanding relationship quality.

In this investigation, we use the Conservation of Resources (CoR) theory as a guide to examine how both uplifts and hassles are associated with positive (e.g., satisfaction, commitment) and negative (ambivalence, conflict) relational quality on a daily basis. In previous studies of hassles and uplifts, the focus has been primarily on negative outcomes at the individual level (e.g., affect). Here, we build on this previous research in examining both positive and negative events (i.e., uplifts and hassles) in associations with positive and negative relational qualities. Further, we focus on examining social and nonsocial events that are external to the relationship (i.e., do not involve the romantic partner) and how they are linked with relational qualities. Finally, we examine which patterns are confined to the same day and which carry over to subsequent days (i.e., lagged effects). Contrary to previous literature, we find that both social and nonsocial hassles are largely unrelated to relationship quality after accounting for the effects of social and nonsocial uplifts. In contrast, nonsocial uplifts bolster positive feelings about the relationship on that day. Results also show that hassles and uplifts may work together to explain relational commitment. Finally, we find that nonsocial uplifts experienced on one day are associated with trend-level declines in next day positive feelings about the relationship. Our findings suggest that preserving relationship quality through daily experiences is best achieved by equipping couples to recognize the benefits of uplifts to the relationship, especially uplifts that are nonsocial, in tandem with managing hassles.

Financial socialization of first-year college students: the roles of parents, work, and education.

This cross-sectional study tests a conceptual financial socialization process model, specifying four-levels that connect anticipatory socialization during adolescence to young adults' current financial learning, to their financial attitudes, and to their financial behavior. A total of 2,098 first-year college students (61.9% females) participated in the survey, representing a diverse ethnic group (32.6% minority participation: Hispanic 14.9%, Asian/Asian American 9%, Black 3.4%, Native American 1.8% and other 3.5%). Structural equation modeling indicated that parents, work, and high school financial education during adolescence predicted young adults' current financial learning, attitude and behavior, with the role played by parents substantially greater than the role played by work experience and high school financial education combined. Data also supported the proposed hierarchical financial socialization four-level model, indicating that early financial socialization is related to financial learning, which in turn is related to financial attitudes and subsequently to financial behavior. The study presents a discussion of how the theories of consumer socialization and planned behavior were combined effectively to depict the financial development of young adults. Several practical implications are also provided for parents, educators and students.

Child-specific and family-wide risk factors using the retrospective Childhood Experience of Care & Abuse (CECA) instrument: a life-course study of adult chronic depression - 3.

BACKGROUND: An earlier paper [Brown, G.W., Craig, T.K.J., Harris, T.O., Handley, R.V., Harvey, A.L., 2007a-this issue. Development of a retrospective interview measure of parental maltreatment using the Childhood Experience of Care & Abuse (CECA) instrument - a life-course study of adult chronic depression - 1. J. Affect. Disord. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2007.05.022] documented an association between parental maltreatment and risk of adult chronic depression. This paper explores the contribution of other child-specific factors (e.g. conduct problems) and family-wide factors (e.g. parental discord). METHODS: Data are derived from an enquiry of 198 women largely comprising of adult sister pairs. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews covering a wide range of parental behaviour and childhood behaviour. RESULTS: Parental maltreatment emerged as channelling the effect of family-wide factors on risk of adult chronic depression, but with a child's conduct problems and shame-withdrawal partly mediating this link. A child's depression before 17, although correlated with parental maltreatment, did not appear to play a significant role in adult depression. This core model is supplemented by analyses exploring the mechanisms involved. A mother's rejection/physical abuse and her depression via her lax control, for example, account for the link of parental maltreatment with conduct problems. Also 'rebelliousness' of a child relates to the chances of her low affection moving to rejection. "Rebelliousness" also appears to play a role in why the paired sisters so often had a different experience of maltreatment. LIMITATIONS: The data is collected retrospectively - but see [Brown, G.W., Craig, T.K.J., Harris, T.O., Handley, R.V., Harvey, A.L., 2007b-this issue. Validity of retrospective measures of early maltreatment and depressive episodes using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA) instrument - A life-course study of adult chronic depression - 2. J. Affect. Disord. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2007.06.003]. CONCLUSIONS: Child-specific factors play a major role in the origins of adult chronic depressive episodes. This, however, is fully consistent with an equally significant contribution from family-wide factors. The crucial point is that the link of the latter with such depression appears to be indirect and mediated very largely by parental maltreatment.

Measuring wellness among resident physicians.

Requirements to include professionalism in residency curricula have generated a substantial body of literature concerning the environments that fail to nurture professionalism. Local and national surveys provide evidence that a high prevalence of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion exists among residents and that clinical practice is impaired as a result of these factors. A group of 34 residents from ten residency programmes participated in the psychometric testing of a resident wellness assessment instrument that can be rapidly administered, scored, and interpreted. The Brief Resident Wellness Profile is composed of a Mood faces graphical rating item and a six-question subscale. The six-item subscale had good reliability (alpha = 0.83; r = 0.84), convergent validity (r = 0.63), discriminant validity (r = -0.37), and concurrent validity ( p = 0.007). The Mood faces item had good convergent validity (r = 0.66), discriminant validity (r = -0.71), and concurrent validity ( p = 0.008). The Brief Resident Wellness Profile appears to be a reliable and valid instrument that measures residents' sense of professional accomplishment and mood and can be rapidly administered, scored, and interpreted.

Do daily stress processes account for socioeconomic health disparities?

OBJECTIVES: The present study examined the extent to which daily stressor severity and appraisals of the stressors accounted for socioeconomic disparities in health. METHODS: Data from the National Study of Daily Experiences and the Midlife in the United States Survey were combined for the current analyses, resulting in 1,031 respondents who reported on 7,229 days. RESULTS: Respondents without a high school degree experienced more severe stressors and appraised stressors as posing greater risk to their financial situation and to their self-concept than respondents with a high school or college degree. Differences in severity and stressor appraisal accounted for education differences in psychological distress and physical health symptoms. DISCUSSION: Findings suggest the importance of considering variation across stressors, particularly implications for self-concept, in understanding sources of differential stressor vulnerability.

Chronic stressors and daily hassles: unique and interactive relationships with psychological distress.

Using daily telephone interviews of a U.S. national sample of adults, aged 25-74 (N = 1,031), the present analyses draw from theories of the stress process and recent research to examine how chronic role-related stressors and daily hassles affect psychological distress. Four separate hypotheses are examined. The first explores the association between chronic stressors and daily hassles. The second tests whether daily hassles function as an intervening variable between chronic stressors and psychological distress. The third tests whether a chronic stressor moderates the relationship between daily hassles and psychological distress. The fourth hypothesis tests for cross-domain effects of chronic stressors and daily hassles. Findings indicate that chronic stressors and daily hassles are distinct types of stressors with unique contributions to psychological distress. The study provides support for chronic home stressors functioning as a moderating factor on the relationship between daily hassles and psychological distress both within and across domains.