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Attitudes to debt among indebted undergraduates: A cross-national exploratory factor analysis

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  • Harrison, Neil
  • Agnew, Steve
  • Serido, Joyce

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a cross-national study spanning England, New Zealand and the United States. A total of 496 first year undergraduates studying business or social science completed a 20-item questionnaire. This focused on their attitudes to their debt incurred while studying, as measured on a five-point Likert scale. A factor analysis model was developed, from which four consistent factors emerged, explaining 45 percent of the variation and consistent between countries. These factors were named: Anxiety, Utility-For-Lifestyle, Utility-For-Investment and Awareness. The first three factors were found to be uncorrelated with each other, but higher Awareness was associated with lower levels of Anxiety and Utility-For-Lifestyle and higher levels of Utility-For-Investment. The relationship with previous studies and implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Harrison, Neil & Agnew, Steve & Serido, Joyce, 2015. "Attitudes to debt among indebted undergraduates: A cross-national exploratory factor analysis," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 62-73.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:46:y:2015:i:c:p:62-73
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2014.11.005
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yeniaras, Volkan & Akkemik, K. Ali & Yucel, Eray, 2016. "Re-considering the linkage between the antecedents and consequences of happiness," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 176-191.
    3. Agnew, Steve & Harrison, Neil, 2015. "Financial literacy and student attitudes to debt: A cross national study examining the influence of gender on personal finance concepts," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 122-129.
    4. Aswathi Rebecca Asok & Joe Cox, 2024. "Debt Attitude and Debt Accumulation among Rural Poor Households in a Developing Region: A Q-squared Approach," Working Papers in Economics & Finance 2024-03, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group.
    5. M. Gagarina A. & A. Shantseva A. & М. Гагарина А. & А. Шанцева А., 2017. "Социально-психологические особенности и уровень финансовой грамотности должников // Socio-Psychological Peculiarities and Level of Financial Literacy of Russian Debtors," Review of Business and Economics Studies // Review of Business and Economics Studies, Финансовый Университет // Financial University, vol. 5(2), pages 5-22.
    6. Manuel Salas-Velasco, 2024. "Debiasing the availability heuristic in student loan decision-making," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 51(2), pages 501-528, May.
    7. Cristina Ottaviani & Daniela Vandone, 2018. "Financial Literacy, Debt Burden and Impulsivity: A Mediation Analysis," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 47(2-3), pages 439-454, July.
    8. Cristina OTTAVIANI & Daniela VANDONE, 2016. "Is Impulsivity a Mediator of the Relationship between Financial Literacy and Debt Decisions?," Departmental Working Papers 2016-06, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    9. Alessandro Bucciol & Luca Zarri, 2015. "Does Investors' Personality Influence their Portfolios?," Working Papers 03/2015, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    10. M. Gagarina & T. Goroshnikova & М. Гагарина & Т. Горошникова, 2018. "Психологические факторы стратегий погашения множественных задолженностей // Psychological Factors of Multiple Debt Repayment Strategies," Review of Business and Economics Studies // Review of Business and Economics Studies, Финансовый Университет // Financial University, vol. 6(3), pages 57-64.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Debt attitudes; Factor analysis; Higher education; Consumer attitudes and behaviour; Educational finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid

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