Purposive and Unintentional Family Financial Socialization, Subjective Financial Knowledge, and Financial Behavior of High School Students.

Using the family financial socialization theory, this study investigated the financial knowledge and behavior of high school students’ contextualizing unintentional and purposive family financial socialization. The sample of 4,473 high school students were 51% females, 45% seniors, and ethnically diverse. A path analysis tested conceptual relationships between variables. Results indicated that the two unintentional socialization indicators were positively associated with subjective financial knowledge and financial behavior. Those indicators were also indirectly associated with financial behavior through knowledge. Student-earned income, a purposive indicator of socialization, was positively associated with behavior through knowledge. Exclusively obtaining money through parents was negatively associated with behavior through knowledge. Knowledge was positively associated with behavior.