Determinants of UK students’ financial anxiety amidst Covid-19: Financial literacy and attitudes towards debt

Journal article

Perry, J. M., Ravat, H., Bridger, E. K., Carter, P. and Aldrovandi, S. (2023). Determinants of UK students’ financial anxiety amidst Covid-19: Financial literacy and attitudes towards debt. Higher Education Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12473

Publication dates
Authors	Perry, J. M., Ravat, H., Bridger, E. K., Carter, P. and Aldrovandi, S.
Abstract	Due to the increased financial pressure—exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic—that students in higher education need to endure, considerable attention is being drawn towards the determinants of student financial anxiety. A conflicting picture has been captured about financial literacy, which has been shown to either be associated with better financial well-being or to be unrelated to financial stress. While discerning between financial knowledge (‘objective’ financial literacy) and perceived ability to manage personal finances (‘subjective’ financial literacy), this study also explores the impact that students' attitudes towards debt may exert on their financial anxiety. In a sample of 174 university students from the UK, we measured students' financial anxiety, objective and subjective financial literacy, attitudes towards debt and perceived impact of COVID-19 on financial behaviour. Bayesian analyses revealed that only attitudes towards debt and perception of the impact of the pandemic predicted students' financial anxiety. While the evidence in regard to financial literacy was inconclusive, mediation analyses showed that objective financial literacy indirectly impacted financial anxiety by increasing fear of debt. The findings suggest that students' financial anxiety may be reduced by adopting strategies that focus on the subjective perception of debt and of economic circumstances.
Keywords	financial anxiety; financial literacy; fear of debt; debt utility; university students
Year	2023
Journal	Higher Education Quarterly
Publisher	Wiley
ISSN	1468-2273
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)	https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12473
Web address (URL)	https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12473
Print	06 Oct 2023
Publication process dates
Accepted	27 Sep 2023
Deposited	20 Nov 2023
Accepted author manuscript	Perry et al_2023_Determinants of UK students financial anxiety amidst COVID‐19-Financial literacy and attitudes towards debt.pdf License CC BY 4.0 File Access Level Open

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	Perry et al_2023_Determinants of UK students financial anxiety amidst COVID‐19-Financial literacy and attitudes towards debt.pdf
License: CC BY 4.0
File access level: Open

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