Consumer Credit Use of Undergraduate, Graduate and Postgraduate Students: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

• Published in: Journal of consumer policy Vol. 43; no. 3; pp. 565 - 592
• Main Authors: Cloutier, J., Roy, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Advisors; Behavior; College students; Commercial Law; Consumer credit; Credit cards; Debt; e-mail; Economic Policy; Email; Graduate students; issues and policy; Marketing; Original Paper; parents; Personal finance; Self-efficacy; Social factors; Social Sciences; surveys; Theory of planned behavior; Undergraduate students; universities; University students; Credit practices; Graduate/postgraduate students; Theory of planned behaviour; Consumer debt; Self-efficacy
• ISSN: 0168-7034; 1573-0700
• DOI: 10.1007/s10603-019-09447-8

Indebtedness among university students is a recurring problem that needs to be addressed. Previous studies have illustrated the situation regarding credit cards and college students. Graduate and postgraduate students have not been studied, although they are also subject to debt. The aim of this article is to explore the psychological and social factors that contribute to the adoption of responsible credit practices among undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students. The data are from an electronic survey sent by e-mail to students at two major Canadian universities ( n  = 1,323). The SEM results indicate that university students with a high level of self-efficacy in consumer credit are more likely to avoid risky credit behaviour. In comparison, the intention of undergraduate students to adopt responsible consumer credit behaviour is more influenced by parents than the (post)graduate students. The implications for financial education and personal finance advisors are discussed based on the results obtained.