Why Are the Kids Still at Home?

• In Event: Collaborative Scholar-Practitioner Efforts to Use NCES Data for Higher Education Research

Abstract

The objective of this study addresses the student debt crisis and its impact on upward mobility. A college degree is associated with financial and social stability. College graduates have more access to jobs (Torpey, 2020), earn more per year (Carnevale et al., 2021), and enjoy a better quality of life (Ma et al., 2016) than those without a college degree. However, college degrees come at a cost. First-time, full-time undergraduate students took on an average of $7,393 in student loans in 2019-20 (NCES, 2021). There is a concern that loans accumulated over several years may lead to delayed adulthood. Delayed adulthood is when typical adult behaviors occur later in an individual’s life (Wilson & Stewart, 2022). The study was guided by the following question: To what extent does student loan burden impact “delayed adulthood” among bachelor’s degree earners? We used data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) 2008/18 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/18) to examine the role of loan debt in students’ transition into adulthood in the 10 years after completing college. We conducted six logistic regression analyses in PowerStats. Four analyses were based on Settersten’s (2007) adulthood milestones, which were whether a graduate, due to the total loan amount accrued, delayed 1) buying a home, 2) getting married, 3) having children, and 4) obtaining additional education. We also examined whether the total loan amount accrued influenced 5) taking a job outside of their field of study and 6) working more than desired. Based on B&B:08/18, an estimated 64.4% of students across the nation borrowed student loans to complete their education. Among those who borrowed, the median cumulative loan amount for all loans was $20,342, with variation by student subgroups. Except for home ownership, there was a negative relationship between the amount of student loan debt and family formation. There was also a negative relationship between student loan debt and workforce outcomes. As policymakers increasingly focus on college affordability, future research should consider student debt burden in relation to the cost of college and how that affects adulthood outcomes.

Authors

• Jude Paul Matias Dizon, California State University - East Bay

• Lynneah C. Brown, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association

• Heather Epstein-Diaz, Florida State University

• Kate Farmer, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Monique Farone, Georgia State University

• Joseph Finke