"“Money Is Just a Tool, Not the Goal”: Examining Messages That Parents " by Hannah Delorto

Graduation Term

Spring 2025

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

School of Communication

Committee Chair

Lindsey Thomas

Committee Member

John Hooker

Committee Member

Aimee Miller-Ott

Abstract

Parental communication plays a crucial role in a young person's development of financial knowledge and behaviors, such as budgeting, saving, investing, retirement preparation, consumer skills, and avoiding excessive debt. This research focuses on emerging young adults aged 18-25, who are a vulnerable group of spenders. Participants shared memorable messages they received about money and rated the messages for positive or negative affect. Then, they answered questions measuring their financial literacy, perceived financial wellbeing, attitude about the importance of money. Four major themes were represented in the data of memorable messages: daily habits, long-term goals, family finances, and the meaning of money. Message affect was found to be positively correlated with financial wellbeing and financial literacy, but it was not correlated with importance of money. The findings of themes and correlations could help inform future parents, education, and support for emerging young adults. Future research should extend this to examine the relationship between themes and outcomes or the impact of parent-child communication about money among different generations.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

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