Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between Master of Social Work (MSW) graduates’ student debt and life choices with financial implications such as homebuying or starting a family. This quantitative exploratory study used a convenience sample of 76 participants who held MSW degrees. The researcher used snowball sampling and two online social work message boards to recruit the participants. The measurement tool was a survey containing 27 questions to assess demographics, debt amount, stress levels, and responses regarding delaying of major life events. Independent sample T-tests and bivariate correlation analysis was performed to analyze the data for the study. The findings suggest that graduates with higher debt are more likely to experience high levels of stress (r= .472, p<.05) and to postpone homebuying (83.1%) and having children (52%). This study reinforces the importance of additional research on this topic and the need for debt relief legislation. In addition, this study supports enactment of policies for social work personnel that focus on loan forgiveness to ease the burden of debt.