Young adults' financial advice-seeking behavior: The roles of parental financial socialization

Objective This study investigated the association between family financial socialization during adolescence and seeking financial advice in early adulthood. Personality, financial risk tolerance, and financial knowledge were examined as mediators. Gender differences throughout the parental financial socialization process and outcome were also explored. Background Young adults are transitioning into adulthood. It has been found they lack fundamental financial knowledge and are more vulnerable to financial stress and financial shocks. Understanding young adults' financial advice-seeking behavior is important because it is linked to positive financial outcomes. Parents serve as significant financial socialization agents for their children and can influence their financial knowledge, attitude, behavior, and long-term well-being. However, little attention has been paid to the role of parents in the financial socialization process on children's financial advice seeking in early adulthood. Method Using the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the family financial socialization model, we constructed a structural framework in which we could examine whether two aspects of family financial socialization, parenting style and receiving allowance, influenced young adults' propensity to seek financial advice. Also, the mediating roles of personality traits, financial risk tolerance, and financial knowledge were examined. Results Personality traits, financial risk tolerance, and financial knowledge were directly associated with financial advice-seeking behavior. Parenting style and receiving allowance during adolescence were indirectly associated with young adults' financial advice-seeking behavior. Additional analyses by gender showed significant differences in the direct and indirect associations among financial socialization factors, personality traits, and financial advice-seeking behavior between men and women. Conclusion This study illustrates the association between early financial socialization and financial advice-seeking behavior through psychological and knowledge factors focusing on the importance of family influence. Using a national dataset and the structural equation modeling method, we found insightful direct, indirect, and total effects of parental financial socialization on young adults' financial advice-seeking behavior and significant gender differences in these effects. Implications The findings provide implications for policymakers and financial educators and practitioners. This study underscores the significant role of parents as financial socialization agents and their long-term influence on adult children's financial advice-seeking decisions. Current financial literacy programs not only should focus on educator-student relationships but also need to pay attention to parental involvement in children's financial socialization process. Adult financial education would help parents play a role in providing financial advice to their children as more capable socialization agents. Accessible financial counseling services at the community level can potentially meet the needs of young adults who have a lower financial knowledge to benefit from professional advice.