Predictors of financial wellness among collegiate women: A revisitation of demographic and other differences

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 9:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Roundtable Session 1: Student Learning and Development in College and Beyond

Abstract

Our study assesses the reliability of previous financial wellness constructs using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. To understand differences in the financial wellness construct across groups, we use multiple indicator multiple causes (MIMIC) models to regress our latent constructs on demographic characteristics of interest. We also examine differential item functioning to investigate whether individual items used for the constructs are biased. The final MIMIC models account for biased estimates. Additionally, we assess students’ financial knowledge descriptively through six financial-related questions. Our findings indicate that the financial wellness constructs performed well with our sample. The MIMIC models suggest variations in financial wellness across different constructs and demographic groups. We also find that students answer fewer than half of the financial knowledge questions correctly.

Authors

• Jeremy Wright-Kim, University of Michigan

• Michelle C. Garcia, University of Michigan