Is impulsive buying the missing link? Family financial socialization and financial well-being among young adults in Türkiye

This study aims to examine the factors determining the financial well-being of university students in Türkiye within the frameworks of social learning theory and family financial socialization theory. Data collected via a survey through the YOUREPLY platform from 395 participants selected from the population using convenience sampling were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM, SmartPLS 4). Results indicate that family financial socialization is negatively related to cognitive but not affective impulsive buying, while in the main model only affective impulsive buying is significantly and negatively related to financial well-being; no indirect associations were supported in the main model. Unexpectedly, family financial socialization is negatively related to financial well-being. This pattern is primarily driven by the family financial distress dimension (β = −.463), whereas instructing money management is positively related to financial well-being (β = .191). When the five dimensions are modelled separately, cognitive impulsive buying is also positively related to financial well-being (β = .219), and one dimension-level indirect association is significant (stressing on savings → cognitive impulsive buying → financial well-being), although its sign runs opposite to the hypothesized mechanism. These results indicate that the aggregate construct masks both positive and negative dimension-level associations. To sum up, these findings point to a family financial socialization boundary condition: specific kinds of guidance behaviors are associated with more deliberative purchasing and, for money-management guidance, with greater well-being. Perceived financial well-being is largely influenced by the financial circumstances of the family, and by non-family factors such as digital marketing stimuli and the macro-financial environment of an emerging market.