A new study by the Ford School-based National Poverty Center headlined a USA Today article on the financial assistance college-age adults receive from their baby-boomer parents.
The study, lead authored by postdoctoral fellow Patrick Wightman, found that 62 percent of young adults receive financial help from their parents. Eighty-two percent of high income-earning parents provided some assistance, while 47 percent of lower-income parents did as well. Both groups transferred about the same share of their overall income to their children, about 10 percent.
The study also revealed how parents' perceptions of their children's attitudes at a young age influenced their willingness to give. According to the article, "Children who (sic) parents said were cheerful, self-reliant and got along well with others before age 12 were more likely to receive financial gifts or loans as young adults, Wightman says. And in families with more than one child, 'if they perceive one of those kids to have a better attitude or to be more self-reliant, that kid has higher odds of receiving this type of support,' he says."
Read more about the study, "Familial Financial Assistance to Young Adults"
NPC: Three in five young adults receive financial support from parents
May 3, 2012