Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Mediation Effect of Financial Education between Financial Stress and Use of Financial Technology

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Family and Economic Issues Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between financial stress and financial technology and included the mediating role of financial knowledge based on the ABC-X model. This study used the 2018 National Financial Capability Study to construct financial stress and the use of financial technology and tested the proposed model with two subgroups: one group with financial education and the other group without financial education. We used confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to evaluate our model. Results show that respondents with a greater level of financial stress generally tended to more engage in financial technology. When the role of financial knowledge was considered in the model, the relationship between financial stress and the use of financial technology varied by the type of financial knowledge. Although this study did not identify the onset of the coping process directly, the direct effect of financial stress on the use of financial technology in each subgroup regardless of their financial education experience confirms efforts of looking for coping when facing and responding to financially stressful situations. Thus, this study sheds light on the new technology for financial services as a potential tool for better financial management and as a coping mechanism for those with financial stress. Results from this study provide insights for financial practitioners and educators who help US households manage their financial stress.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aguiar, R. L., Onur, E., Skouby, K. E., Aguayo-Torres, M. C., & Toftegaard, T. S. (2010). Users, economics, technology: Unavoidable interdynamics. Wireless Personal Communication, 53(3), 437–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asaad, C. T. (2015). Financial literacy and financial behavior: Assessing knowledge and confidence. Financial Services Review, 24(2), 101–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernheim, D. B., Garrett, D. M., & Maki, D. M. (2001). Education and saving: The long-term effects of high school financial curriculum mandates. Journal of Public Economics, 80(3), 435–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boss, P. (1987). Family stress. In M. B. Sussman & S. K. Steinmetz (Eds.), Handbook of marriage and the family. Boston, MA: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boss, P. (1992). Primacy of perception in family stress theory and measurement. Journal of Family Psychology, 6(2), 113–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Britt, S. L., Mendiola, M. R., Schink, G. H., Tibbetts, R. H., & Jones, S. H. (2016). Financial stress, coping strategy, and academic achievement of college students. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 27(2), 172–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategy: A theoretical based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2), 267–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, S., Paulson, A., & Shastry, G. K. (2016). High school curriculum and financial outcomes: The impact of mandated personal finance and mathematics courses. Journal of Human Resources, 51(3), 656–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, C. G., & Mantler, J. (2004). The consequences of financial stress for individuals, families, and society. Centre for Research on Stress, Coping and Well-being. Ottawa: Department of Psychology Carleton University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunkley, D. M., Blankstein, K. R., Halsall, J., Williams, M., & Winkworth, G. (2000). The relation between perfectionism and distress: Hassles, coping, and perceived social support as mediators and moderators. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(4), 437–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Federal Reserve Board. (2016). Consumers and mobile financial services 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2020, from https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/consumers-and-mobile-financial-services-report-201603.pdf.

  • FINRA Investor Education Foundation. (2019a). Data and downloads. Retrieved March 1, 2020, from https://www.usfinancialcapability.org/downloads.php.

  • FINRA Investor Education Foundation. (2019b). 2018 National Financial Capability Study. Retrieved March 1, 2020, from https://www.usfinancialcapability.org/downloads/NFCS_2018_State_by_State_Meth.pdf.

  • Garrett, J. L., Rodermund, R., Anderson, N., Berkowitz, S., & Robb, C. A. (2014). Adoption of mobile payment technology by consumers. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 42(4), 358–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, R. (1949). Families under stress. Westport, CT: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, R. (1958). Generic features of families under stress. Social Casework, 39(2–3), 139–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, C. L., Wang, C. F., & Lin, J. C. C. (2011). Investigating customer adoption behaviours in mobile financial services. International Journal of Mobile Communications, 9(5), 477–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huddleston, C. A., Danes, S. M., & Boyce, L. (1999). Impact evaluation of a financial literacy program: Evidence for needed educational policy changes. Consumer Interests Annual, 45, 109–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khatri, V., Samuel, B. M., & Dennis, A. R. (2018). System 1 and system 2 cognition in the decision to adopt and use a new technology. Information & Management, 55(6), 709–724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y. K., Park, J. H., Chung, N., & Blakeney, A. (2012). A unified perspective on the factors influencing usage intention toward mobile financial services. Journal of Business Research, 65(11), 1590–1599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCallum, R. C., Browne, M. W., & Sugawara, H. M. (1996). Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling. Psychological Methods, 1(2), 130–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGonigal, K. (2015). The upside of stress: Why stress is good for you, and how to get good at it. New York, NY: Penguin Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, P., & Trinh, L. Q. (2019). Fintech and financial literacy in the Lao PDR. Retrieved February 23, 2020, from https://think-asia.org/bitstream/handle/11540/9770/adbi-wp933.pdf?sequence=1.

  • Peng, T. M., Bartholomae, S., Fox, J. J., & Cravener, G. (2007). The impact of personal finance education delivered in high school and college courses. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 28(2), 265–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard, M. E., Wilson, G. S., & Yamnitz, B. (2007). What predicts adjustment among college students? A longitudinal panel study. Journal of American College Health, 56(1), 15–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosino, M. (2016). ABC‐X model of family stress and coping. Encyclopedia of family studies (pp. 1–6). New York: Wiley.

  • Sapolsky, R. M. (1994). Why zebras don’t get ulcers. In W. H. Freeman & S. E. Taylor (Eds.), The tending instinct: How nurturing is essential to who we are and how we live. New York: Holt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sasaki, M., & Yamasaki, K. (2007). Stress coping and the adjustment process among university freshmen. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 20(1), 51–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1063–1078.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheresberg, C. B., Hasler, A., & Lusardi, A. (2020). Millennial mobile payment users: A look into their personal finances and financial behavior. Retrieved March 3, 2020, from https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/562156/adbi-wp1074.pdf.

  • Servon, L. J., & Kaestner, R. (2008). Consumer financial literacy and the impact of online banking on the financial behavior of lower-income bank customers. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 42(2), 271–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, Y. C. (2011). Job stress and job performance among employees in the Taiwanese finance sector: The role of emotional intelligence. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 39(1), 21–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yen, Y. S., & Wu, F. S. (2016). Predicting the adoption of mobile financial services: The impacts of perceived mobility and personal habit. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, 31–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeo, J. H., & Fisher, P. J. (2017). Mobile financial technology and consumers’ financial capability in the United States. Journal of Education & Social Policy, 7(1), 80–93.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Consumer Sciences, South Dakota State University, Box 2275A, Wagner Hall 149, Brookings, SD, 57007-0295, USA

    Wookjae Heo

  2. Department of Family Consumer Science, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 102 Wiecking Center, Mankato, MN, 56001, USA

    Jae Min Lee

  3. Department of Personal Financial Planning, University of Missouri, 239 E Stanley Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Abed G. Rabbani

Authors
  1. Wookjae Heo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jae Min Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Abed G. Rabbani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jae Min Lee.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research Involving Human and Animal Participants

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

The study used a publicly available secondary dataset, the National Financial Capability Study 2018, and for this type of study, formal consent from all individual participants was not required.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Heo, W., Lee, J.M. & Rabbani, A.G. Mediation Effect of Financial Education between Financial Stress and Use of Financial Technology. J Fam Econ Iss 42, 413–428 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09720-w

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09720-w

Keywords

JEL Classification

Search

Navigation