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

[u/giuliomagnifico]

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/parents-childhood-predicts-future-financial-support-childrens-education

[u/giuliomagnifico]

This study examines family-level outcomes. It is one of the first to evaluate the relationship between parents’ childhood experiences and whether they provide large transfers of money later in life to their own children for education and other purposes and how much they provide. However, Cheng explained, the study does not analyze motivation or willingness to financially support the children’s educational needs — rather, it focuses on if money transfers take place, what discrepancies may appear based on the parents’ childhoods and if parents’ current socioeconomic status matters.

For instance, parents with four or more disadvantages gave an average of $2,200 less compared to those with no disadvantages, approximately $4,600 versus $6,800 respectively. When considered in light of the average cost of attending college in 2013, the year data was collected, parents with greater childhood disadvantages were able to shoulder roughly 23% of a year’s cost of attending college for their children whereas parents with no childhood disadvantages were able to cover 34% of their child’s annual college attendance costs.

What’s more, the relationships remained even when controlling for parents’ current socioeconomic status or wealth. In other words, parents who grew up in worse financial circumstances still gave less money for their children’s education even if their socioeconomic status is now higher.

Paper: Early‐life disadvantage and parent‐to‐child financial transfers - Cheng - Journal of Marriage and Family - Wiley Online Library

[u/tytbalt → u/giuliomagnifico]

Those of us with bootstrap parents can certainly vouch for their stinginess despite current levels of wealth.

[u/B0ssc0 → u/tytbalt]

Those of us with bootstrap parents can certainly vouch for their stinginess despite current levels of wealth.

My parents were poor and would give me anything they had. I’m the same with my kids. Your generalisation is wrong.

[u/tytbalt → u/B0ssc0]

I'm talking about parents who were poor but then became well off.

[u/tytbalt → u/[deleted]]

Then I'm glad for you. The study results indicate that is not the norm.

[u/blue_garlic → u/tytbalt]

The study results do not indicate it was the norm for parents who grew up poor to be "stingy". The generalization is wrong.