Family Income and Financial Concerns: Socioeconomic Status and College Students' Development of Social Agency

• In Event: 42.047 - Intersections of Typology and Identity

Abstract

This paper considers the relationship between college students’ socioeconomic status (SES) and their development of Social Agency. We focus on SES due to what some have deemed a “civic recession” that coincided with the economic recession of 2008. Tenuous economic conditions may differentially influence low-income students perceptions of labor market and career opportunities and contribute to their development of social agency. Preliminary analyses indicate that there is a small negative relationship between parental income and social agency and that while college experiences can develop social agency, they cannot fully compensate for disparate levels of social agency at college entry. These findings have implications for institutional practices and highlight collegiate experiences that institutions might better leverage to develop social agency.

Authors

• Hannah Whang, University of California - Los Angeles

• Carrie Miller, University of California - Los Angeles