• 2007 •

Pinto, M.B. and Mansfield, P.M. Marketing Credit Cards to College Students: Will Legislation Protect Them from Excessive Debt? Marketing Management Journal, 17(1): (2007).

• Sample: n = 1,889 Nonrandom purposive sample of undergraduate students attending nine public and private colleges in the state of Pennsylvania.
• The study investigated whether or not campus solicitation had an impact on students’ credit card habits.
• A significantly greater percentage of students owned no cards at schools that did not allow solicitation on campus (non-solicitation schools).
• The average number of cards and outstanding debt was higher at schools that allowed solicitation compared to the non-solicitation schools.
• Students were found to obtain their credit cards most often from direct mail, on-campus solicitation accounted for only 4.8% of all sources.  

• 2006 •

Pinto, M.B. and Mansfield, P.M. Financially At-Risk Students: An Exploratory Investigation of Student Loan Debt and Prioritization of Debt Repayment. NASFAA Journal of Student Financial Aid, 36(2):(2006).

• Sample: n = 1,441 Random sample of undergraduates who attended four public and four private universities in the eastern half of the United States during the 2004-2005 academic year.
• Students were grouped into two categories: Financially At-Risk (FAR) and Non-Financially At-Risk (NFAR). Of the 1,441 students that compose the working sample, 204 students (14.2 percent) are considered FAR. Seventy-six percent of students in the FAR group have outstanding balances of $1,000 or more. Ninety-four percent have balances of $1,000 or more and also pay the minimum amount due (or less than the minimum amount due) on their credit card(s) each month.
• When comparing public versus private institutions, there was significant difference (p<.01) in the number of cards held by students and the outstanding balance carried by students on their credit cards.
• 69.5% of the overall sample reported carrying some type of student loan (s) in their name.
• There was a significant positive correlation between outstanding credit card balance and both current student loan debt (r= .102, p<.001) and expected student loan debt at the time of graduation (r= .098, p< .05).

Pinto, M.B. and Mansfield, P.M. Direct Mail Credit Card Solicitation of College Students: An Exploratory Study. Service Marketing Quarterly, 27(4):(2006).

• Sample: n = 112 Entry-level marketing students. Data received on 550 offers.
• Students receive an average of five credit card offers over six weeks.
• 15% of students accept the offers that they receive in the mail, which is 30 times the nationwide response rate of .4%.
• Direct mail offers had an average 1.6% introductory APR and a 12.4% final APR.
• There is no significant relationship between the number of direct mail offers received, the number of cards owned, and monthly outstanding balances.
  

• 2005 •

Pinto, M.B., Parente, D.H. and Mansfield, P.M. Information Learned from Socialization Agents: Its Relationship to Credit Card Usage. Family and Consumer Science Research Journal, 34(4): (2005).

• Sample: n = 589 Traditional college students (under the age of 23) with one or more credit cards.
• The amount of credit card information that students receive from their parents is significantly greater than the amount of information received from peers, media, and schools.
• The more information provided by parents, the lower the outstanding balances carried by college students on their credit cards.

• 2004 •

Pinto, M.B., Mansfield, P.M. and Parente, D.H. Relationship of Credit Attitude and Debt to Self-Esteem and Locus of Control in College-Age Consumers. Psychological Reports, 94: 1405-1418 (2004).

• Sample: n = 589 Traditional college students (under the age of 23) with one or more credit cards. Sample was divided between convenience users and installment users. Mild installment users carried a balance between $1 and $231 and heavy installment users carried a balance equal to or over $800.
• Comparisons made between convenience users, mild installment users, and heavy installment users.
  • Convenience users and mild installment users have similar beliefs about credit by indicating that they have little difficulty managing their debt and lower anxiety levels about their credit card usage.
  • Individuals that do not carry a monthly balance are less likely to make impulse purchases.
  • The number of credit cards convenience users and mild installment users own is significantly lower than the number of cards heavy installment users own.

• 2003 •

Pinto, M.B., Mansfield, P.M., and Parente, D.H. Self Control and Credit Card Use Among College Students. Psychological Reports, 92: 1067-1078 (2003).

• Sample: n = 165 Students under the age of 22 with at least one personal credit card. Sample was divided between convenience users (those who do not carry a monthly balance) and installment users (those that carry a monthly balance).
• Comparisons were made between installment users (66%) and convenience users (34%).
  • Significant difference in the overall level of reported self-control and one sub dimension impulsivity.
  • On average, installment users (2.7) have more credit cards than convenience users (1.6).

• 2001 •

Palmer, T.S., Pinto, M.B., and Parente, D.H., College Students' Credit Card Debt and the Role of Parental Involvement: Implications for Public Policy. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 20(1): 105-113 (2001).

• Sample: n = 355 College students under the age of 21 with one or more credit cards.
• Two types of parental involvement: Pre-acquisition- helped students get credit card; Post-acquisition- helped students pay credit card bill.
• Students whose parents are involved in their acquisition of credit cards have significantly lower credit balances than do students with no parental involvement.

Pinto, M.B., Parente, D.H., and Palmer, T.S. Credit Card Solicitation Policies in Higher Education: Does Protecting Our Students Make a Difference? Journal of College Student Development, 42(1): 49-58 (2001).

• Sample: n = 735 College students with at least one personal credit card. Study included three institutions: Two schools that allowed solicitation and one that did not.
• Students attending schools that restrict solicitation had higher outstanding balances than those at institutions that that did not.
• Restricting solicitation on campus did not prevent students from receiving offers due to other solicitation methods.

Pinto, M.B., Parente, D.H., and Palmer, T.S. College Student Performance and Credit Card Usage. Journal of College Student Development, 42(1): 49-58 (2001).

• Sample: n = 735 College students with at least one personal credit card. Sample was divided into groups based on level of academic performance (i.e. self-reported GPA).
• Comparisons were made between High Performer Group and Low Performer Group.
  • 2.6 average number of credit cards; $846 average outstanding balance.
  • No significant difference in number of credit cards held, outstanding balance, or hours worked.
  • Significant differences in anxiety about credit card usage (i.e., High Performer Group reported higher levels of anxiety); perceived need to work (i.e., Low Performer Group indicated that paying off credit cards was a key reason for their employment); perceived impact of employment on academic performance (i.e., Low Performer Group reported that if they did not have to work to pay off their debt they would do better in the classroom).

• 2000 •

Pinto, M.B., Parente, D.H., and Palmer, T.S. Materialism and Credit Card Use by College Students. Psychological Reports, 86: 643-652 (2000).

• Sample: n = 735 College students with at least one personal credit card.
• Comparisons were made between High Materialism Group and Low Materialism Group.
  • No significant difference in number of credit cards held.
  • No significant difference in outstanding balance.
  • Significant differences were found in how students used their cards (e.g., types of purchases made such as clothing and gifts).

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