Young Adults’ Life Outcomes and Well-Being: Perceived Financial Socialization from Parents, the Romantic Partner, and Young Adults’ Own Financial Behaviors

“Because My Father Told Me To”: Exploratory Insights into Parental Influence on the Retirement Savings Behavior of Adult Children

“…Although researchers largely ignore family financial socialization in adulthood, this research demonstrates that parental influence on their children's retirement savings strategies can persist over time. Thus, the study answers the question, posed by Curran et al (2018), of whether financial socialization continues into adulthood.…”

“…Thus, most of the studies that have considered the developing financial capabilities of emerging adults focused on their experiences as they entered further education (Allen et al 2007;Shim et al 2010), entered work, or reached financial independence (Lee and Mortimer 2009). Researchers identified peers and romantic partners as becoming increasingly relevant as young adults age (Burgoyne et al 2010;Curran et al 2018;Koposko and Hershey 2016). Harrison et al (2017) noted that parents and other family members remain the principal trusted source for financial information for young adults aged 18 to 24 but, thereafter, the relevance of parents all but disappears from the research literature.…”

“…A couple of other participants had begun to take a greater interest in their parents' financial well-being and were offering them advice as they approached retirement. This suggests that there is merit in Curran et al's (2018) proposal to investigate whether the intergenerational financial socialization process ceases to be hierarchical as children age.…”

Financial Socialization: A Decade in Review

“…The primary tenet of Gudmunson and Danes’s ( 2011 ) theory is that what children learn (and do not learn) about money from their parents will be associated with children’s financial wellbeing both concurrently and throughout the life course. Although financial socialization continues to occur after the age of 18 (Curran et al 2018 ; Gudmunson et al 2016 ; Serido et al 2015 ), family financial socialization that takes place during childhood and adolescence (birth to age 17) is particularly important in laying a foundation for, and being directly associated with, financial outcomes (Gudmunson and Danes 2011 ; Serido and Deenanath 2016 ) and will be the primary focus of this review. According to the conceptual model by Gudmunson and Danes (Fig.…”

“…For example, when emerging adults were asked to retrospectively recall their years as children and adolescents, recalling lower-quality parent-child relationships (conceptualized in terms of insecure attachment) was negatively associated with healthy financial behavior in emerging adulthood, mediated by frequency of parent-child financial discussion (Jorgensen et al 2017b ). Indeed, even subsequent attachment to a romantic partner was associated with the financial behaviors of emerging adults (Curran et al 2018 ; Li et al 2020 ).…”