Title: Good attitudes and suspect intentions: profiling styles of student debtors using an extended TPB

Authors: Farooq Ahmed Chudry

Addresses: Bristol Business School, University of the West of England, Frenchay, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK

Abstract: The ubiquity and scale of student debt are well reported in the literature both in the UK and the international context. What is less investigated is the perception of student borrowing from a consumer behaviour perspective. This paper draws on theoretical frameworks from the field of consumer behaviour to explore student borrowing patterns in the UK. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), a survey of 305 students was asked to complete a questionnaire to collect information about their borrowing intentions and attitudes as well as their knowledge of finance and other cognitive variables. It was found that many students saw debt as inevitable and something over which they had little control. It is hypothesised that this lack of control has an impact on attitudes towards borrowing in life after university. It was further found that the student sample could be effectively divided into decision-making styles, providing possible opportunities for educational interventions around debt management.

Keywords: student debt; loans; borrowing patterns; student attitudes; consumer behaviour; debtors; theory of planned behaviour; TPB; profiling; UK; United Kingdom; financial knowledge; cognitive variables; inevitability; lack of control; universities; higher education; decision making; educational interventions; debt management; globalisation; business advancement.

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2010.032762

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2010 Vol.3 No.1, pp.28 - 44

Published online: 20 Apr 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article