Attitudes toward Finance: A Focus Group Study on Women in Italy

Abstract

In spite of the amount of research conducted on financial literacy, the literature offers little information about the role of attitude toward finance in financial achievement. This exploratory study aims to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the phenomenon of 'attitude toward finance', viewed as potentially connected to people's financial knowledge levels. The study focuses on a sample of 87 women aged between 19 and 65 years old in order to assess and compare their attitude to finance. Methodologically, this is a qualitative study based on focus group discussions. We find different 'attitude profiles' in our sample reflecting the complex interaction of affect with learning finance, cognitive competence, value, difficulty, and interest in finance. As might be expected, women with a specific educational or professional path in finance are found to have a more favourable attitude toward finance. Conversely, age appears to have no relationship with attitude toward finance. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.