Emerging Adults

Dr. Kristy Archuleta and colleagues studied[1] 180 college students who sought financial counseling. Their objective was to explore the impact of financial concerns on individuals’ mental well-being. The investigation delved into various factors, including debt, individuals’ satisfaction with their financial situation, and their knowledge of finances, aiming to discern the relationships between these factors and the experience of financial stress. The primary focus of the study was to uncover the influence of student debt on an individual’s financial anxiety.

The years following high school are a time of financial change and stress.[1] High school graduates who opt for a college education often find themselves trading home-cooked meals for microwave ramen. Many college students find themselves with limited funding throughout their education, often graduating with debt.[2] Lacking funds increases the importance of healthy financial habits. After all, to some degree financial success is less about how much you have, and more about how you handle what you have. However, many students do not have the financial resources and information needed to successfully navigate these years. Are there ways in which these young adults can enter college better prepared?

As a student amid many classes, bogged down by assignments and under pressure to learn a mountain of material, it may seem that the student alone is responsible for their own academic success. However, family economics research has shown that this is not completely true. While personal responsibility is undoubtedly needed for academic success, a student’s educational journey is impacted by a range of variables from government policies to parenting style. In Dr. Xiaohui (Sophie) Li’s article, What Impacts Young Generations’ School/College Education Through the Lens of Family Economics? A Review on JFEI Publications in the Past Ten Years, Li splits up her discussion of the factors that impact young generations’ education into three categories: the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of influence.[1] These levels are a way to look at the influences in a person’s life from a broad, big-picture lens (considering influences such as the government or society) to a close, direct lens (such as the family). In doing so, Li provides insight into challenges a student might encounter while obtaining an education.

As an emerging adult (ages 18-30), I can confidently say I do not actually feel like an adult. I still rely on my parents for car insurance, and regularly find myself asking what the difference between a Roth and Traditional IRA account is (many apologies to my family finance teachers, you really did your best to educate me). Many emerging adults find themselves in the same boat. With an economy that seems to require more and more of you to become a “fully fledged” adult with a house, car, and steady income stream, it can be difficult to identify as an adult on your 18th birthday.

This article was based on the project Whats and Hows of Family Financial Socialization[i], a study that spanned over 3 years. Interviewing university students and their parents and grandparents, researchers sought to learn how family finance is taught and passed down through generations.

When you think of how you learned about money as a child and as a teenager, what do you think of? You might remember parental advice about spending and saving, maybe a warning about debt or excessive credit card use, and, possibly, your first piggy bank. Parents’ financial teachings for their children and teenagers are especially important today given the challenges that many emerging adults, those ages 18–30, are facing in the U.S.

To be clear, I don’t hate my dad. In fact, Enrico is a great guy. However, family research makes it clear that parents’ choices affect their children, and for myself, my father’s gambling addiction had a significant impact on me.

Emerging adulthood is a time of change that can influence whether or not young adults become their ideal adult selves.1