•  
  •  
 

Keywords

financial therapy, marriage and family therapy, social work, psychology

Abstract

In recent years, a growing number of initiatives have been aimed at increasing financial literacy among youth in America. However, these efforts have tended to target mainstream populations, and failing to adequately address the backgrounds, learning, and psychological needs of at-risk youth. This study piloted a curriculum on money management that presented a basic set of financial skills via story situations and characters that are meaningful to at-risk youth using a dynamic interactive multimedia online delivery to heighten youths’ interest to learn. The approach also helped at-risk youth gain insight into their money beliefs and psychological barriers to success, integrating change theory and techniques designed to enhance their motivation to change. Eighty-eight Job Corps participants were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Results showed that the interactive multimedia curriculum produced significant gains in youth’s financial knowledge and confidence in money management skills.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

References

Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. (2009). AFCARS Report #17: Preliminary estimates published July 2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/tar/report17.pdf

Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment. Retrieved September 29, 2010 from http://www.caseylifeskills.org/pages/assess/assess_aclsa.htm

Bernheim, B,D., Garrett, D.M., & Maki, D.M. (1997). Education and savings: The long term effects of high school financial curriculum mandates. NBER Working Paper No. 6085. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from: http://www.nber.org/papers/w6085

Braunstein, S. & Welch, C. (2002, November). Financial literacy: An overview of practice, research, and policy. Federal Reserve Bulletin, 445-457.

Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce. (2006, January 30). Personal income and outlays: December, 2005. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/2006/pi1205.htm

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.

Consumer Reports. (2005). Rights that credit-card users deserve now. Consumer Reports, 70, 73.

Cook, R. J. (1994). Are we helping foster care youth prepare for their future? Children & Youth Services Review, 16(3/4), 213-229.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0190-7409(94)90007-8

Courtney, M. E., Dworsky, A., Cusick, G. R., Havlicek, J., Perez, A., & Keller, T. (2007). Midwest evaluation of the adult functioning of former foster youth: Outcomes at age 21. Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of Chicago. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.chapinhall.org/sites/default/files/ChapinHallDocument_1.pdf

Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, AFCARS Report.

Dittmar, H. (2005). Compulsive buying--a growing concern? An examination of gender, age, and endorsement of materialistic values as predictors. British Journal of Psychology, 96, 467-491.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/000712605X53533
PMid:16248937

Garrett, L. (2000, Winter). Money management and students. DollarSense, 2.

Greeson, J. K. P., Usher, L., & Grinstein-Weiss, M. (2010). One adult who is crazy about you: Can natural mentoring relationships increase assets among young adults with and without foster care experience? Children and Youth Services Review, 32, 565-577.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.12.003

Grunbaum, J., Kann, L., Kinchen, S. A., Ross, J. G., Gowda, V. R., Collins, J. L., & Kolbe, L. J.(1999). Youth risk behavior surveillance – National alternative high school youth risk behavior survey, United States, 1998. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss4807a1.htm

Johnson, E., & Sherraden, M. A. (2007). From financial literacy to financial capability among youth. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 34(3), 119-145.

Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. (1997). Homepage. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.jumpstartcoalition.org

Kids Count 2004 Data Book Online. (2004). Essay: Moving youth from risk to opportunity. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/Publications.aspx?pubguid=%7BEB49FC5EE1EC-49EC-94D7-412886C6F29D%7D

Klontz, B. T., Bivens, A., Klontz, P. T., Wada, J., & Kahler, R. (2008). The treatment of disordered money behaviors: Results of an open clinical trial. Psychological Services, 5(3), 295-308.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1541-1559.5.3.295

Klontz, B.T., Britt, S.L., Mentzer, J., & Klontz, P.T. (2011). Money beliefs and financial behaviors: Development of the Klontz Money Script Inventory. Journal of Financial Therapy 2(1), 1-22.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4148/jft.v2i1.451

Klontz, B., Kahler, R., & Klontz, T. (2008). Facilitating financial health: Tools for financial planners, coaches, and therapists. Cincinnati, OH: The National Underwriter Company.

Klontz, B. & Klontz, T. (2009). Mind over money: Overcoming the money disorders that threaten our financial health. New York, NY: Broadway Books.

Knutson, G. G. (1999). Alternative high schools: Models for the future? Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/HSJ/Knutson.asp

Krause, N., Gina, J., & Liang, J. (1991). Financial strain and psychological well-being among the American and Japanese elderly. Psychology and Aging, 6, 170-181.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.6.2.170
PMid:1863386

Lerman, R.I. (1993). Reversing the poverty cycle with job-based education. In R. Wollons (Ed.) Children at risk in America: History, concepts and public policy. Albany NY: State University of New York Press.

Mallon, G. P. (1998). After care, then where? Outcomes of an independent living program. Child Welfare, 77(1), 61-78.
PMid:9429310

Maloney, D., & Holcomb, D. (2001). In pursuit of community justice: Deschutes County, Oregon. Youth & Society, 33(2), 296-313.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0044118X01033002008

Martin, M. (2007). A literature review on the effectiveness of financial education. Working paper series: The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Retrieved Feb. 2, 2011, from http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/economic_research/working_papers/index.cfm.

McKenna, J., & Carroll, J. (1999). Collaborative problem solving: Financial education for youth. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.joe.org/joe/1999october/a3.html

Mech, E. V. (1988). Preparing foster adolescents for self-support: A new challenge for child welfare services. Child Welfare, 67(6), 487-495.

Miller, W.R. & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing: Preparing people for change (2nd edition). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice. (2004). Preventing youth delinquency: Identifying school risk and protective factors. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.edjj.org/preventingyouthdelinquency.htm

National Center for Education Statistics. (2001). Dropout rates in the United States: 1999. Method of high school completion. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/dropout/MethodOfCompletion.asp

National Endowment for Financial Education. (n.d.). NEFE High School Financial Planning Program. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.nefe.org/HighSchoolProgram/tabid/146/Default.aspx

Northwest Media, Inc. (2003). Career Information System for at-risk youth: Final report. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.northwestmedia.com/research/careerspins.pdf

Northwest Media, Inc. (2005). Options to Anger: A multimedia intervention for at-risk youth: Final report. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.northwestmedia.com/research/jj-i.pdf

Northwest Media, Inc. (2003). Vstreet.com: A web-based community for youth in transition. Retrieved September 19, 2010, from http://www.northwestmedia.com/research/vstreet-ii.pdf

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2008). Law enforcement & juvenile crime. Statistical briefing book. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/qa05101.asp?qaDate=2008&text=

Pacifici, C., White, L., Cummings, K., & Nelson, C. (2005). Vstreet.com: A web-based community for at-risk teens. Child Welfare, 84, 25-46.

Pecora, P. J., Williams, J., Kessler, R. C., Downs, A. C., O’Brien, K., Hiripi, E., & Morello, S. (2003). Assessing the effects of foster care: Early results from the Casey National Alumni Study. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/pdf/CaseyNationalAlumniStudy_Summary.pdf

Pickett, K. E., James, O. W., & Wilkinson, R. G. (2006). Income inequality and the prevalence of mental illness: A preliminary international analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60(7), 646-647.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2006.046631

Prochaska, J.O., Norcross, J.C., & DiClemente, C.S. (1994). Changing for good: A revolutionary six-stage program for overcoming bad habits and moving your life positively forward. New York, NY: Quill.

Public Law 106–169. (1999). Title I, Subtitle A, § 101(b), 113 Stat. 1824.

Rosnow, R.L. & Rosenthal, R. (1996). Computing contrasts, effect sizes, and counternulls on other people’s published data: General procedures for research consumers. Psychological Methods, 1, 133-340.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.1.4.331

Schreiner, M., Sherraden, M., Clancy, M., Johnson, L., Curley, J., Grinstein-Weiss, M., Zhan, M., & Beverly, S. (2001). Savings and asset accumulation in individual development accounts: Downpayments on the American Policy Demonstration: A national demonstration of individual development accounts. St. Louis, MS: Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://csd.wustl.edu/Publications/Documents/ADDReport_2001.pdf

Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Tobin, T. & Sprague, J. (1999). Alternative Education Programs for At-Risk Youth: Issues, Best Practice, and Recommendations. Oregon School Study Council Bulletin, v42 n4 Sum 1999.

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. (2009, January 13). Job Corps fact sheet. What is Job Corps? Retrieved October 14, 2010, from http://www.doleta.gov/Programs/factsht/jobcorps.cfm

U.S. Department of Labor. (2010, August 24). Job Corps: Success lasts a lifetime! Find a Job Corps center. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from
http://recruiting.jobcorps.gov/en/centers.aspx

Warren, E., & Tayagi, A. W. (2004). The two-income trap: Why middle-class parents are going broke. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Download

Share

COinS