Money Talks: Revealing and Concealing Financial Information in Families

Abstract

Financial knowledge is essential for becoming a productive member of society, yet little is known about how parents communicate with their children about finances. Using a communication privacy management framework (Petronio, 2002 Petronio, S. 2002. Boundaries of privacy: Dialectics of disclosure, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. [Google Scholar]), this study examined, through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews of 23 parents, what financial issues parents shared with their children and why parents chose to reveal or conceal this information. Interviews identified that parents relied on privacy boundaries and rules when determining whether to disclose private information to their children. If parents perceived more risks from the disclosure than rewards, or that talking about money was culturally unacceptable, they did not disclose. This study extends research on parent-child communication about money and offers practical implications for discussing a taboo topic.