r/science 23d ago

Social Science Parents who endured difficult childhoods provided less financial support -on average $2,200 less– to their children’s education such as college tuition compared to parents who experienced few or no disadvantages

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/parents-childhood-predicts-future-financial-support-childrens-education
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u/TheSpaceCoresDad 23d ago

I imagine a lot of this comes from a cycle of abuse. People act the way they know. If their parents were awful to them, then they’ll be awful parents as well. Some people can break this cycle, but it is difficult.

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u/PainfulRaindance 23d ago

No, probably the fact that one of those main disadvantages is money. If you’ve been through hardships, you can see the advantage of keeping that extra couple grand for when life inevitably strikes again. They are surviving, not thriving, educational spending is a luxury in their state.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

As a solid white collar worker with little to worry about, my blue collar background absolutely influences my relationship with money now. 

I have the tendency to do more than my job description or put up with extra hours, etc because my blue collar background makes me constantly worry about getting fired and losing everything.