Differences in debt levels among undergraduate students as a function of gender, ethnicity, and parental education levels

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of student demographic characteristics and familial characteristics to financial debt levels among undergraduate students. Specifically, student gender, student ethnic membership, academic major, highest level of education obtained by parent(s), marital status of parents, and income levels of parents, number of credit cards, grade point average, and type of financial aid packages received were investigated. In the present study, data were derived from a secondary data source, the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS): 2007--2008, 2003--2004, and 1999--2000.;A non-experimental quantitative causal comparative design was employed in this research study. Given the nature of the data collected in the NPSAS, the data can only be analyzed using the DAS which, unfortunately, severely limits the types of statistical procedures that can be conducted. Unlike other statistical software packages such as SPSS or the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) that permit numerous univariate and multivariate statistical procedures, the DAS is limited to only the use of t-tests and regression procedures. Moreover, effect sizes that are either part of the SPSS or SAS results that can be obtained, effect sizes are not possible through use of the DAS.;Addressed in this study were the relationships of personal demographic, familial or credit characteristics, and types of financial aid received to the amount of cumulative debt that graduating seniors owe after they graduate from college. Specifically, out of the 510 analyses, 138 were statistically significant, indicating a difference in the cumulative debt levels of graduating seniors by gender, ethnicity, academic major, parental education, parental income, parental marital status, credit card ownership, grade point average, and the receipt of Pell grant, Stafford Loan, or Institutional Aid. Though statistically significant differences were not yielded for every variable analyzed in this present study, several of the statistically significant differences reported are important for further research.;KEY WORDS: Student Debt, Financial Aid, Social Capital, Credit Card Debt, Gender, Ethnicity, Parental Education.