Financial Socialization in Christian Premarital Counseling With Emerging Adults.

Research on financial socialization among emerging adults has retrospectively examined what they have learned from their parents growing up. Building on this work, this article explores how these lessons are not static but can become reexamined through interpersonal relationships. It reports on findings from a qualitative study of four Christian premarital programs (two evangelical Protestants and two Catholics) and 70 interviews with participating couples and leaders of these and other programs. By contributing observational data on how the methods of socialization operate, it analyzes both explicit lessons on money and implicit models for how premarital counselors construct normative frameworks on how to interrogate emerging adult's past and plan for their financial future. Specifically, it documents how financial advice was often relegated to supplemental materials due to leaders' lack of confidence on money matters but also how the broader programming provided young couples with opportunities to identify and reflect on their family financial socialization. Implications for professionals interested in improving premarital and financial counseling are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]