Survey: 25 Percent Of Teens Think They Will Rely On Parents Financially As Adults

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS Denver) - The results of a recently conducted survey indicate that 25 percent of all teenagers anticipate relying upon their parents for financial support well into their 20s.

Researchers at Junior Achievement, a Colorado Springs-based organization that seeks to educate student-age children about topics relating to business and finance, noted that the figure represents a 12 percent increase from answers given in 2011 in response to the same question.

"From our findings, we can infer that teens expect to live with their parents longer because 23 percent are unsure about their ability to budget and nearly 20 percent express similar feelings about the use of credit cards," Jack E. Kosakowski, president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement, was quoted as saying in a press release on the study posted to the Junior Achievement website. "Additionally, 34 percent of teens express a lack of confidence in their ability to invest their money."

Researchers additionally cited concern regarding higher education costs as another factor for the students' predictions regarding their fiscal futures.

However, some optimism was also gleaned from the responses to the survey, in that students reportedly feel they will ultimately achieve better financial status than their parents because of the opportunity to save money afforded by parental assistance.

According to the study, parents agree with what their children see for themselves in the not-so-distant future.

"Parents are ... expecting their children to be in their mid-20s by the time they are financially independent, as the economy, availability of jobs and societal norms now indicate a longer dependence on parents," the release noted.

Representatives from Junior Achievement and Allstate Financial, with whom they conducted the study, stressed the importance of discussing finance as a family and instilling principles of fiscal responsibility in children at an early age.

"One goal many teens have is to go to college, yet nearly 30 percent of teens say they haven't discussed paying for higher education with their parents and only nine percent admit to saving for college," Allstate Financial president and chief executive officer Don Civgin noted, according to the release. "There is a tremendous opportunity for family conversation on this topic."

Added Kosakowski, "[R]esources are available, but now is the time to implement steps to help today's teens secure independent financial futures."

The study was conducted in February of this year, according to Junior Achievement. It involved 1,025 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, who used the research tool KnowledgePanel to log their opinions and insights.