Being crushed under a mountain of debt is typically frowned upon.
欠一屁股债可不是一件让人觉得轻松的事情。

Not being able to pay for goods outright, and then being hit by extortionate interest rates which spiral out of control, is the stuff of financial nightmares.
喜欢的东西买不起，硬着头皮买下来又得承受高额利息，这简直就是财务噩梦。

But new research has suggested this could actually be a dream scenario for many young adults.
不过一项最新的研究表明，欠债实际上能激励年轻人实现梦想。

It claims those saddling themselves with credit card debt will feel empowered and have better self-esteem.
根据这项调查的说法，欠信用卡卡债能让人感觉更有力量，因而生活得更自信。

"Debt can be a good thing for young people - it can help them achieve goals that they couldn't otherwise, like a college education," said Ohio State University assistant sociology professor Rachel Dwyer.
俄亥俄州立大学社会学助理教授瑞秋•多伊尔说：“年轻人欠点儿债没什么不好的——这样可以帮助他们实现奋斗目标，比如上大学。”

Her study found that 18 to 27-year-olds who had huge credit card and university loan debts had better self-esteem than their peers.
经调查她发现，在年龄为18至27岁之间的人群中，那些身负巨额债务或助学贷款的年轻人要比他们的没有债务负担的同龄人更自信。

They also felt as if they were more in control of their lives, especially those in the lower economic classes.
尤其是那些来自低收入家庭的孩子，他们会因债务而对自己的生活有更强的掌控感。

Only the oldest of those studied, between 28 and 34, began showing signs of stress about the money they owed.
只有那些年纪较大，在28至34岁间的人才会因为欠债而倍感压力。

Professor Dwyer said her team was "surprised" at the results of her research into 3,079 young adults which examined data on two types of debt - loans taken out to pay for university and total credit card bills.
多伊尔教授表示，她的研究小组在调查了3079名年轻人后发现，他们所欠的债务主要来自助学贷款和银行信用卡，这样的结果让她们很惊讶。

She said: "We thought educational debt might be seen as a positive because it is an investment in their future, while credit card debt could be viewed more negatively. Surprisingly, though, we found that both kinds of debt had positive effects for young people. It didn't matter the type of debt, it increased their self-esteem and sense of mastery."
她说：“按照我们的想法，助学贷款是在为他们的未来做投资，这没有什么不对的，而信用卡则是鼓励提前消费，负面影响较大。但是我们却发现这两种债务都有其积极的一面，这点很叫我们吃惊。不管是哪种债务，它们都能增加这些年轻人的自信心和对生活的掌控能力。

But Professor Dwyer also said that Debt may make young people feel better about themselves in the short-term, but that doesn't mean it won't have negative consequences in the long term.
不过多伊尔教授同时也表示，欠债或许在短时间内让这些年轻人自我感觉良好，但从长远来看，这并不意味着就没有任何负面影响。

"How debt affected young people depended on what other financial resources they had available," she said.
她说：“债务对年轻人会产生什么样的影响取决于他们是否有其他经济来源。”