The psychological antecedents of personal financial management behavior: a meta-analysis

PurposeThe intent of this study is to aggregate, in a measurable form, the results of previous studies on the association between personal financial management behavior (PFMB) and six psychological factors, which are financial attitude, financial self-efficacy, self-control, materialism, internal locus of control (LOC), and external LOC.Design/methodology/approachA stack of 32 research documents that investigated 52 relationships between various psychological variables and PFMB was analyzed using the meta-analysis technique. Along with the overall meta-analysis, a comprehensive subgroup analysis was also undertaken counseled to determine whether the results contrast on account of the age group of the sample and the economy of the country to which the sample belongs.FindingsThe overall meta-analysis findings do not support the association between PFMB and the various explanatory variables except for the significant positive association with self-control. In contrast, a subgroup study revealed that self-control (positively) and materialism (negatively) were found to be significantly associated with PFMB among adults. The association between internal LOC and PFMB is significant and positive among the young. Interestingly, self-control appeared to be significantly and positively associated with PFMB in developed countries. In developing countries, financial attitude, financial self-efficacy and internal LOC are significantly and positively associated with PFMB.Originality/valueDistinct from other review papers, this meta-analysis quantitatively cumulates and reconciles the conflicting findings on the linkage between psychological predictors and PFMB. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis on the topic.