This study examined the relationships between parental financial assistance, time spent in paid work, campus involvement, GPA, and alcohol use in 518 college students. The results found that greater parental financial assistance was associated with more campus activities, higher GPA, and more frequent alcohol use. Time spent in paid work accounted for the link between parental financial assistance and GPA, but not campus activities or alcohol use. The findings suggest that parental financial assistance benefits academics but risks alcohol use, and that paid work time impacts academics but not social involvement or substance use.

1. Parental Financial Assistance, Paid Work, and Undergraduate Campus Involvement, GPA, and Alcohol Use
Emily A. Waterman, Samantha P. Steich, Meg L. Small, & Eva S. Lefkowitz
The Pennsylvania State University
Introduction Results
• Parental financial assistance is associated with undergraduate students’ grade
point average (GPA) and alcohol use (Carr & Powell, 1991, Kalenkowski &
Pabilona, 2008; Padilla-Walker et al., 2012).
• One possible underlying mechanism is that students who receive less parental
financial assistance spend more hours in paid work (Padilla-Walker et al., 2012),
which limits students’ time for other activities, including studying (Greene, 2013;
Kalenkowski & Pabilona, 2008; Springer & Verlag, 2008).
• Campus activity participation is important for students’ well-being, sense of
belonging, positive self-concept, leadership skills, and academic persistence
(Astin, 1984; Busseri & Rose-Krasnor, 2008; Moore et al., 1998; Terenzini et al.,
1999). Research has not yet explored the association between parental financial
assistance and participation in campus activities, which may be negatively
associated via the mechanism of time spent in paid work.
• We hypothesize that: (1) parental financial assistance will be positively
associated with participation in campus activities, GPA, and alcohol use, and (2)
hours per week spent in paid work will account for these associations.
Conclusions
• Parental financial assistance may be protective for campus activity participation and GPA, however, a risk factor for frequent alcohol use (Carr &
Powell, 1991, Kalenkowski & Pabilona, 2008; Padilla-Walker et al., 2012).
• Results suggest that time spent in paid work is an important factor in the link between parental financial assistance and GPA. Although causality
cannot be determined using the current analyses, it is likely that students who spend less time in paid work have more time for studying and
other academic activities.
• However, time spent in paid work was not a factor in the link of parental financial assistance with campus activity participation and alcohol use.
Other mechanisms may explain the this link, such as expendable income or social status.
• University personnel should be attentive to the needs of students with low parental financial assistance and more time in paid work. Providing
opportunities such as work-study assistance may alleviate the time demands of non-academic paid work.
Sample
Self-Report Measures
• Parental financial assistance: number of categories in which parents provided
financial assistance (tuition, room and board, school-related expenses, personal
spending money)
• Time in paid work: average number of hours spent in paid work per week
• Participation in campus activities: total number of campus activities (e.g., club
sports, Greek life, volunteer activities, academic organizations)
• GPA: cumulative GPA
• Alcohol use: frequency of alcohol use in the last 30 days
Results
• In support of hypothesis 1, participants with
parental financial assistance in more categories
tended to participate in more campus activities,
have higher GPAs, and drink alcohol more
frequently.
• In partial support of hypothesis 2, time spent in
paid work accounted for the association between
parental financial assistance and GPA; participants
who received more parental financial assistance
tended to spend fewer hours in paid work, and
participants who spent fewer hours in paid work
tended to have higher GPAs.
• Time spent in paid work did not account for the
associations of parental financial assistance with
campus activity participation or alcohol use.
• This work was supported by grant #R01 AA016016 from the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The views expressed in this work are ours and do
not necessarily reflect the funding agency.
Table 1. Bivariate Correlations
Variables Parental
Financial
Assistance
Hours in
Paid Work
Campus
Activities GPA
1.Parental Financial
Assistance
--
2. Hours in Paid
Work
-.38** --
3. Campus Activities .09* -.11** --
4. GPA .09* -.22** .18** --
5. Alcohol Use .09* -.10* .05 .01
Note. GPA = Grade point average. *p < .05. **p < .01. For parental financial assistance,
‘0’ represents parental financial assistance in 0 categories and ‘4’ represents parental
financial assistance in all 4 categories.
Table 2. Regression Analyses for Campus Activities, GPA, and Alcohol Use
Campus Activities
(N = 518)
GPA
(N = 515)
Alcohol Use
(N = 510)
Step 1 Step 2 Step 1 Step 2 Step 1 Step 2
β β β β β β
Parental Financial
Assistance
.13** .10* .11* .04 .09* .09
Hours in Paid Work -.07 -.19*** -.02
R2 .02** .02** .01* .04*** .01* .01
∆ R2 -- .01 -- .03*** -- .00
Note. GPA = Grade point average. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p <.001.
Demographics
Female 54.1%
White/European American 46.1%
Asian American/Pacific Islander 29.7%
Hispanic/Latino American 25.7%
Black/African American 21.0%
• 518 college
students (aged
18-21) who were
part of a larger
longitudinal
study.