SSS 2011-06-07（在线收听）

For most of us, owing thousands of dollars in students loans, all while juggling crushing credit card debt probably sounds like a nightmare. But for people in their early to mid-20s, all that debt actually seems to boost their self-esteem. Possibly because they can sort that debt in the investment in their the future. So says a study in the journal Social Science Research.

Researchers analyzed on-going national survey data on 3,000 young Americans. Questions covered students loans and credit card debt, as well as some design to measure those respondents' self-esteem in sense of control over their lives.

Even accounting for the fact that the more self confident teens might be willing to take out more loans in college, researchers have found that the more debt respondents had, the more empowered they felt, especially young adults from low income families, might have been afforded opportunities beyond their meets.

But the honeymoon appears to end around age 28. Right around the time when college grads have been working a few years and they realized their salary expectations may have been just a tad too high. Oh, and when the bills for those student loans start showing up.