SOCIALIZATION TOWARD MONEY IN LATINO FAMILIES - AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY OF GENDER DIFFERENCES

Members of a convenience sample of first-generation Latino brothers an d sisters, all attending college, were interviewed about their childho od and contemporary experiences with money. The interviews focused on the ways in which the parents, all born in Mexico, approached money an d how the subjects were influenced. In contrast to other research find ings, Latinos and Latinas were raised with similar beliefs and practic es about money; there were no separate money-gender tracks for these m en and women. This equality seems to result from the high frequency of poverty in the sample. Although subjects had realistic attitudes abou t money, they also reported difficulties with managing money upon ente ring college. A strong belief in the value of education, acquired from parents, provided subjects with a sense of future that included finan cial success.