Covariates of behavioral consistency among adolescents

Building on cross-sectional data for Austrian high school students from fifth to twelfth grade (N = 771), we investigate the covariates of adolescents’ behavioral consistency for which we propose a novel measure focusing on the susceptibility to a battery of behavioral biases. Most importantly, we find that behavioral consistency significantly correlates with sense of future financial security, which demonstrates the practical relevance of the ability to make consistent decisions. Moreover, self-reported parental financial education relates positively to behavioral consistency. Our results also reveal an increase in behavioral consistency from students in lower secondary education to those in upper secondary education, paired with school-type effects in the latter group.