What My Parents Did for Me: Parental Financial Sacrifice, Money Scripts, and Financial Behaviors Among Hong Kong Youths in Low-SES Households

Drawing on the family financial socialization model, this study examines parental financial sacrifice—parents prioritize their children's future over their own financial needs—and its associations with youths' financial behaviors. We investigated three types of financial behaviors: (1) short-term management (e.g., saving and spending), (2) long-term management (e.g., investing), and (3) financial enabling (e.g., over-giving or oversharing). Additionally, we explored the mediating role of money scripts—emotionally charged beliefs about money—and their organization into distinct profiles. Based on cross-sectional data from 1000 Hong Kong youths in low-SES households, we found that higher-level parental financial sacrifice was associated with healthier short- and long-term money management but lower-level financial enabling. These associations were mediated by money script profiles—the diverse combinations of money-related beliefs. These results underscore the distinctive financial socialization experiences of youths in low-SES households while highlighting the value of understanding money script profiles to mitigate their challenges.