title: Do Community Characteristics Relate to Young Adult College Students' Credit Card Debt? The Hypothesized Role of Collective Institutional Efficacy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Friedline
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, The University of Tennessee Knoxville, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Stacia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: West
authors.affiliation: School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Nehemiah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rosell
authors.affiliation: Family Social Science, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Serido
authors.affiliation: School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
authors.forename: Soyeon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shim
mesh_terms: D000067012:Banking, Personal; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005376:Financial Management; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Collective institutional efficacy; Community-level effects; Credit card debt; Financial socialization; Young adults