Dwyer Rachel E, DeMarco Laura M
The Ohio State University.
North Carolina State University.
Emerg Adulthood. 2024 Oct;12(5):878-893. doi: 10.1177/21676968241241560. Epub 2024 May 29.
Emerging adults in the U.S. face significant economic uncertainty during the early life course. Economic uncertainties grew in the 2000s, especially for the Millennial cohort. Access to credit can be a resource to manage the instability that characterizes emerging adulthood. However, debt can also become a burden, making credit like a "double-edged sword." We study inequality in debt holding for five debt types that provide distinct resources and burdens, including mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit cards, and other debts to businesses. We analyze the extent to which the Millennial cohort accumulated unequal debts by the end of emerging adulthood using the . We find strikingly unequal debt holding by education, race/ethnicity, and education-by-race/ethnicity for Millennial emerging adults. We conclude that policies and programs that support emerging adult financial wellbeing will be crucial for healthy development and reduced inequalities during this life course stage.
美国的新兴成年人在人生早期面临着巨大的经济不确定性。经济不确定性在21世纪有所增加，尤其是对千禧一代而言。获得信贷可以成为应对新兴成年期特征性不稳定状况的一种资源。然而，债务也可能成为一种负担，使信贷就像一把“双刃剑”。我们研究了五种债务类型的债务持有不平等情况，这五种债务类型提供了不同的资源和负担，包括抵押贷款、汽车贷款、学生贷款、信用卡以及其他商业债务。我们使用[具体方法]分析了千禧一代在新兴成年期末积累不平等债务的程度。我们发现，千禧一代新兴成年人在教育程度、种族/族裔以及教育程度与种族/族裔交互方面存在明显不平等的债务持有情况。我们得出结论，支持新兴成年人财务福祉的政策和项目对于这一人生阶段的健康发展和减少不平等至关重要。
