Magwegwe, Frank Mashoko2025-11-072025-11-072025-06Magwegwe, F.M. 2025, 'The determinants of student loan repayment worry', Journal of Consumer Affairs, vol. 59, no. 2, art. e70011, PP. 1-19, doi : 10.1111/JOCA.70011.0022-0078 (print)1745-6606 (online)10.1111/JOCA.70011http://hdl.handle.net/2263/105164Millions of student loan borrowers worry about their loan repayments. Previous research has focused on student loan debt's impact on post-college outcomes, overlooking psychological aspects like repayment worry. Utilizing data from the 2021 National Financial Capability Survey (n = 2582), we developed and tested a theoretical model for understanding the determinants of student loan repayment worry (repayment worry) and the moderating effects of gender on the association between stressors (financial hardship and student loan delinquency) and repayment worry. Logistic regression showed that financial hardship and student loan delinquency are significant predictors of repayment worry. The coping resources we studied—financial self-efficacy, financial satisfaction, and household income—were significantly linked to lower repayment worry, except for financial capability. Notably, gender was a significant moderator of the financial hardship—repayment worry association, with males experiencing stronger effects than females, but did not moderate the student loan delinquency—repayment worry association. Implications for mitigating repayment worry are offered.en© 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Consumer Affairs published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Council on Consumer Interests. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.Financial capabilityStudent loan repayment worryStudent loan delinquencyFinancial self-efficacyFinancial satisfactionFinancial hardshipArticle