Development of Financial Independence from the Family: A Model

Abstract

Based on a survey and interviews with students aged 15 to 20, this paper works towards a model of stages between adolescents' financial dependence upon and independence from the family. Childhood dependency may be considered at one end of a spectrum with economic and social independence as well as separation from the family at the other. Along the spectrum, it is possible to discern a series of markers which indicate developmental stages on the path towards independence. Location of young people along the spectrum does not necessarily relate to age, but is influenced by family type, circumstances, and perceptions of what constitutes independence. The proposed model facilitates a conceptualisation of normative as well as ‘risk’ pathways leading to financial independence, and so has implications for educational and social policies directed towards youth and their families.