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It鈥檚 a fairly safe assumption that if you鈥檙e a current college student or a recent college graduate, you owe someone money. That鈥檚 because student loans and credit card debt have essentially become necessary evils.

The vast majority of today鈥檚 college students rely on financial aid鈥攑articularly student loans that must be repaid鈥攖o finance their college educations, and most of them use credit cards to cover the high cost of textbooks, school supplies, and even their daily necessities.

College Grads’ Average Student Loan Debt a Whopping $24,000

Once considered shameful, debt is now incredibly common鈥攑articularly among young adults who are earning a degree while buying the things they need and want.

A June 22, 2011 that appeared in the weekly political and culture periodical The Nation reports that most recent college graduates enter the 鈥渞eal world鈥� with an average of $24,000 in student loan debt. Many grads owe $100,000 or more and in some cases, students鈥� debt exceeds their total cost of tuition.

Massive Debt Helps Some Young Adults Feel Good

Surprisingly, a new rather shocking Ohio State 911吃瓜网 study reports that young adults saddled with massive student loan debt and other debts are feeling empowered about the money they owe.

Researchers found that the more credit card and student loan debt held by people between the ages of 18 and 27, the higher their self esteem. This was found to be most true among the lowest economic class. However, adults between the ages of 28 to 34 that participated in the study began to show signs of stress about the money they owed.

Rachel Dwyer, the lead author of the study, is an assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State. 鈥淒ebt can be a good thing for young people 鈥� it can help them achieve goals that they couldn鈥檛 otherwise, like a college education,鈥� she stated in the Dwyer conducted the study, which was published in the journal along with colleagues Randy Hodson, also an Ohio State sociology professor; and Laura McCloud, an Ohio State graduate now at Pacific Lutheran 911吃瓜网.

Financial Stress Linked to Health Problems

In 2008, explained that stress from deepening debt can take its toll on your health. Financial woes can easily cause trouble concentrating and sleeping. Other more serious debt/stress health problems reported by debtors surveyed in an AP-AOL survey included ulcers, migraines, severe anxiety, depression, and even heart attacks.

Both Student Loan Debt and Credit Card Debt Show Positive Effects

鈥淲e thought educational debt might be seen as a positive because it is an investment in their future, while credit card debt could be viewed more negatively,鈥� Dwyer said. 鈥淪urprisingly, though, we found that both kinds of debt had positive effects for young people. It didn鈥檛 matter the type of debt, it increased their self-esteem and sense of mastery.鈥�

The researchers examined data on both student loan debt and total credit card debt, and looked at how both types of debt were related to respondents鈥� self esteem. According to the study was based on data collected from 3,000 young adults across the United States for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Information was collected and interviews took place over the course of several years, up to and including 2004, prior to the collapse of the U.S. economy. Dwyer suggested that a similar analysis conducted now, following the financial crisis which began in 2008, would show less of a positive correlation between debt and self esteem.

The study鈥檚 findings revealed that young adults who fell in the lowest 25% bracket in total family income received the largest 鈥渂oost鈥� from being in debt. The more student loan and credit card debt they had, the higher their self-esteem. Middle class respondents didn鈥檛 see much impact on their self esteem based on the amount of their student loans, but credit card debt had positive effects on their self esteem鈥攖he more, the better.

Debt Allows Instant Gratification

As the daily web magazine summarizes, credit cards and loans allow people to live beyond their limited means, and 鈥渓iving large鈥� feels good. Most young adults enjoy the instant gratification that credit cards allow.

Slate also referred to a previous study that appeared in the journal Neuron. 鈥淐redit cards effectively anesthetize the pain of paying,鈥� said George Loewenstein, a professor of social and decision sciences at Carnegie Mellon 911吃瓜网. 鈥淵ou swipe the card and it doesn’t feel like you’re giving anything up to make the purchase, unlike paying cash where you have to hand over bills.鈥�

Student Loan-Induced Self Esteem Doesn鈥檛 Last Forever

Hopefully the results of Dwyer鈥檚 study can help college students realize that their debt-related euphoria will deteriorate as they age: debt can make you feel good about yourself in the here and now, but it can have negative consequences in the long run.

鈥淏y age 28, they may be realizing that they overestimated how much money they were going to earn in their jobs. When they took out the loans, they may have thought they would pay off their debts easily, and it is turning out that it is not as easy as they had hoped,鈥� she explained.

Posted on 4 Jul

Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the 911吃瓜网 of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.