Doctoral Dissertation Research: Student Debt and Family Relationships

本研究旨在探讨学生债务对大学后成年期家庭关系的影响，以及家庭如何围绕学生债务进行谈判。 本研究提出两个问题：（1）学生债务如何影响大学毕业后的家庭关系？(2)家庭如何共同管理负债和还款的经历？ 数据收集将通过两次访谈12个月间隔最近的学生，在一年的过程中，这些最近的学生每月日记调查，并与他们的父母采访。 调查结果将与美国高等教育融资体系的改革以及高等教育的可获得性和持续性有关。数据主要包括对约100名最近大学毕业生及其父母的采访。年轻的成年受访者是最近在两所大学，主要服务于在国家人口，包括非完成者，第一代学生，和不同专业的学生的与会者。 访谈的主题是大学生活和父母在大学的支持;债务偿还情况;父母和年轻成年子女之间的关系，特别是当他们涉及到金钱和经济支持;成年过渡;目前的债务取向;其他家庭成员的作用，特别是兄弟姐妹;以及什么，如果有的话，父母和年轻人觉得他们现在或将来可能欠对方。年轻的受访者接受了两次采访。在访谈之间，他们被邀请参加简短的月度调查，这些调查是后续访谈的锚，并允许分析随着时间的推移不断变化的关系和财务状况。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project examines the effect of student debt on the family relationships in the period of emerging adulthood after college and how families negotiate issues around student debt. This project asks two questions: (1) How does student debt shape family relationships in the period of emerging adulthood after college? (2) How do families manage the experience of indebtedness and repayment together? Data collection will be through two interviews 12 months apart with recent students, a monthly diary survey over the course of the year for these recent students, and an interview with their parents. Findings will be relevant to debates regarding reform of the US higher education financing system and access to and persistence in higher education.The data consist primarily of interviews with about 100 recent college leavers and their parents. The young adult interviewees are recent attendees at two colleges that primarily serve in-state populations and include non-completers, first-generation students, and students with different majors. Interview topics are college life and parental support in college; the debt repayment situation; relationships between parents and young adult children, particularly as they relate to money and financial support; adult transitions; current orientation to debt; the role of salient other family members, particularly siblings; and what, if anything, parents and young adults feel they might owe each other now or in the future. Young adult respondents are interviewed twice. Between interviews, they are invited to participate in short, monthly surveys that anchor follow-up interviews and allow for the analysis of changing relationships and financial situations over time.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.