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For most of us, owing thousands of dollars in student loans, all while juggling crushing credit card debt, probably sounds like a nightmare. But for people in their early to mid-20s, all that debt actually seems to boost their self-esteem—possibly because they consider that debt an investment in their future. So says a study in the journal Social Science Research. [Rachel Dwyer, Laura McCloud and Randy Hodson, "Youth Debt, Mastery, and Self-Esteem: Class-Stratified Effects of Indebtedness on Self-Concept"]
Researchers analyzed ongoing national survey data on 3,000 young Americans. The questions covered student loans and credit card debt, as well as some designed to measure the respondents’ self-esteem and sense of control over their lives. Even after accounting for the fact that more self-confident teens might be willing to take out more loans in college, the researchers found that the more debt respondents had, the more empowered they felt. Especially young adults from low-income families, who might have been afforded opportunities beyond their means.
But the honeymoon appears to end around age 28—right around the time when college grads have been working a few years and they realize their salary expectations may have been just a tad too high. Oh, and when the bills for those student loans start showing up.
—Christopher Intagliata
[The above text is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
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6 Comments
Add CommentIts just the lenders playing games with the immature minds of young adults. Advertising and other means of creating mindsets does work to benefit those seeking to impose them for selfish reasons. Think how this works in Islamic nations where young people kill themselves to benefit older fascists.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPerhaps it gives people more of a reason to work where/when they would otherwise see less reason to... we like goals, we like achieving various objectives, so, paying debt is sort of like, "score...earn... score...earn... score..."... lots of people tend to like that 'ka-ching' feeling, like, 'one more step closer to freedom'.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this-there is a sub-set of people without debt who have fine self-esteem though, we should remember... perhaps we, the sub-set, are working to pay off more abstract debt, like, helping in general as 'payment', & feel good about that.
No, those martyrs are killing themselves for Islam out of a belief in the mythological soul-playground, heaven. Frankly I don't see the connection to the story there, but anyway, the suicide bombers are not sucking up to elders; they are sucking up to a fictional character, Allah though (on average here). '...just the lenders playing games...'?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, TobyNSaunders has identified the type of many Islamic suicide bombers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTobyNSaunders has not mentioned the INNOCENT Islamic "suicide" bombers that are tricked into carrying "packages" on airlines that are loaded with explosives,
OR
the mobile, but terminally ill, who are convinced by their bomb-making handlers,
OR
the mentally deficient who are fooled to be "containers" by cynical bomb-making tricksters.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. You guys are such morons. The WHOLE WORLD laughs at The American Idiot who pays taxes AND pays for college AND pays for medical bills. And you're still so ****ing arrogant.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd people don't become suicide bombers because of ideology. The 'scientific' in Scientific American is not a serving suggestion! Look up the science of suicide bombs. There is a causal link between occupation by foreign entities/troops and suicide bombs. The highest number of suicide bombs are NOT by Muslims.
ha ha ha ha. Ignorant fools.
Today I looked at a rental application of a young woman with more than $250,000 in student loan debt. She is on the road to becoming a doctor, which if I am not mistaken, the average student loan debt of a physician is well over $150,000 if not more. When I was in college, I can not tell you the number of credit card vendors who would camp out at the student center to gave away free shirts and other stuff to get us to fill out credit card applications. In America, we have lost sight of responsible borrowing and traded it in for a super-sized, fast food lifestyle. I am sure the young woman I met felt a $250,000 investment in her future was well worth the money. But, what happens at 28 is not so much that the honeymoon is over, but more of the realization that there is more to life than your work. But at that moment the student loans have to be paid and if you're not careful, you can fall victim to material possessions that enslave us to our jobs.
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