Student debt, attitudes towards debt, impulsive buying, and financial management

The debt levels of current and ex-psychology students were compared with th eir attitudes towards debt, tendency towards impulsive buying, and their us e of methods to reduce or limit debt. The percentage of students with some debt and their total debt levels increased with the level of university stu dy. Tolerance toward debt followed the same pattern. Impulsive buying was n ot related to overall debt levels, suggesting that impulsive buying is not a major cause of student debt. Methods that could be used to reduce or limi t debt were widely used by those whose debt level was high. In general, the re was little indication that student debt could be attributed to financial recklessness.