Quantitative investigation of college students' financial behaviour

The rapid growth of student loan debt has led to increased public attention on college students' financial aid and financial behaviour. This study addresses the psychological process underlying effective college student financial behaviour and its determinants. A model modified based on planned behaviour theory is proposed and empirically tested using a sample of 243 college students. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is employed to examine the model fits and to investigate the relationship among the proposed factors. The determinants of financial behaviour identified by this study include attitude, intention, and perceived behavioural control, past behaviour, subjective norm, behavioural beliefs, subjective norm beliefs, and control beliefs. Additionally, this research examines the relative importance of these determinants and tests the role of beliefs.