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
Recommended Citation
Delorto, Hannah, "“Money Is Just a Tool, Not the Goal”: Examining Messages That Parents Tell Their Children About Money" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 2130.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2130