Abstract

MANSILLA CHIGUAY, Luis; DENEGRI CORIA, Marianela  and  ALVAREZ ESCOBAR, Boris. Relationship between attitudes toward indebtedness and consumer locus of control in university students. Suma Psicol. [online]. 2016, vol.23, n.1, pp.1-9. ISSN 0121-4381.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sumpsi.2015.11.002.

Indebtedness has great impact on quality of life, and this is why it is necessary to understand the variables that underlie this behaviour. In this regard, the locus of control has been identified as an important psychological variable that could be related to attitudes towards debt and therefore, with the behaviour of the credit use in young people. This paper sought to determine whether there is a relationship between consumer locus of control and attitudes toward debt in Chilean college students of pedagogy undergraduate programs. The sample included 472 pedagogy students from 2 universities in southern Chile. The Consumer Locus of Control Scale was validated and adapted to the Chilean context in order to carry out data collection. Attitudes towards debt were evaluated by means of the Attitudes Towards Indebtedness Scale to assess attitudes towards indebtedness. The Consumer Locus of Control Scale analysis indicated the need to abandon the one-dimensionality of the scale, thereby giving rise to a new 3-factor solution. Analysis of gender differences reveals that men have more favourable attitudes toward indebtedness. Finally, and in accordance with the general hypothesis of the study, more tolerant attitudes toward indebtedness are associated with an external locus in terms of consumption. The results provide evidence that supports the theoretical relationship between the attributes of control and attitudes towards debt, and constitute a relevant input for the design of financial education strategies in young people, emphasis also placed in considering the influence of psychological variables, and not just the financial content, if significant changes are expected in the behaviour.

Keywords : Attitude; Locus of control; Debt; University students.

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