Document Type

Thesis

Comments

Department of Communication

Keywords

college student risky financial behaviors ; college student debt ; Theory of Motivated Information Management personal finances ;

Publisher

Bryant University

Rights Management

All rights retained by Shannon Foglia and Bryant University

Abstract

Maxing out credit cards, spending savings accounts, and only paying off the credit card minimum each month are all examples of risky financial behaviors that tend to get college students into debt. These risky choices can stay with a student long after college, making them unable to buy a home or achieve financial independence. As one of the last taboos, personal finances are rarely a topic of conversation among students and their social networks. This investigation uses the Theory of Motivated Information Management to understand what makes college students avoid information and communication regarding personal financial behaviors. Results showed that the TMIM model with the addition of guilt is useful in understanding information avoidance on personal financial behaviors and provides direction for how to induce communication among college students and their social networks on personal financial decisions.

Included in

Communication Commons

COinS