The influence of materialism, financial education and the value attributed to money on the propensity for indebtedness of generations X and Y

Abstract

Excessive personal debt is a problem worldwide. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of materialism, financial education, and the value attributed to money on the indebtedness of individuals from Generation X and Generation Y, given that they represent a significant segment of the population. Through social media and email, a descriptive quantitative survey was conducted using a Likert scale questionnaire with 55 questions. Employing ANOVA tests, multiple linear regressions, and mediation analyses, this study proposed ten hypotheses and confirmed three of them. The results showed that the value attributed to money has a positive and significant impact on the propensity for indebtedness in Generation X, as well as mediates its relationship between materialism and indebtedness. For Generation Y, financial education revealed a negative and significant impact on the propensity for indebtedness. The main conclusion is that there are no differences between the behavior of the two generations concerning money and that the evaluated variables do not exert a significant influence on debt levels.