Young people `have not changed attitudes towards debt`

People aged between 25 and 34 have not altered their attitudes towards accruing debt despite the economic downturn, new research suggests.

Such people are more likely than any other age group to have used credit to pay for essential items, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found.

Nearly one in three (27 per cent) 25 to 34-year-olds had used credit to cover the cost of household items, such as food, over the past six months.

Meanwhile, 30 per cent of this demographic were unsure of their ability to make their debt repayments.

It was also found that more young people (20 per cent) applied for credit over the past six months than any other age group in the UK.

Richard Thompson, partner and head of consumer finance at PwC, commented: "The young are still prepared to borrow despite the tough market conditions: their behaviour has not yet caught up with the reality of the current economic situation."

Recently, KPMG predicted that 40 per cent more people will be declared insolvent this year compared with 2008.