The Costs of Belonging: How Spending Money Influences Social Relationships in College

This study sought to better understand the relationship between access to spending money and students’ social relationships with peers through a survey and four follow-up focus groups at a public regional comprehensive university. Using sense of belonging as a conceptual lens, findings demonstrated that spending money was a significant influence on students’ social relationships in college. Additionally, access to spending money factored into students’ sense of belonging or, conversely, their sense of social exclusion.