Financial literacy and self-control for a sustainable future: a cross-sectional study with middle school students on the parallel mediating effects of patience and responsibility
ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA, vol.263, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 263
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.106190
- Journal Name: ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA
- Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Periodicals Index Online, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Anadolu University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This study explored the psychological mechanisms behind financial literacy in early adolescence, a key period for setting long-term financial goals and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Focusing on secondary school students in T & uuml;rkiye, the research examined how responsibility and patience serve as parallel mediators in the relationship between self-control and three aspects of financial literacy: conscious consumption, savings and future planning, and the meaning of money. A cross-sectional survey involving 663 students was conducted, and parallel mediation analyses tested the proposed model. Results showed that self-control significantly predicted conscious consumption, savings, and future planning. The links between self-control and conscious consumption, as well as between self-control and savings and future planning, were concurrently mediated by responsibility and patience. Regarding the meaning of money, self-control had no significant direct effect, but responsibility played a notable mediating role; patience alone did not, although the combined indirect effect of responsibility and patience was still significant, indicating an indirect-only mediation pattern. These findings suggest that financial literacy in early adolescence is best understood as a character-based skill, with self-control operating through virtues such as patience and, especially, responsibility. The results underscore the importance of integrating financial education with character development to promote conscious consumption, savings behaviors, and a reflective understanding of money, ultimately supporting individual financial wellbeing and broader goals such as poverty reduction, quality education, and responsible consumption.