The Determinants of Money Arguments between Spouses

Abstract

A commonly held view is that arguments about money are associated with marital problems, but relatively little is known about the nature of arguing about money within marriage. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), this study uses a collective bargaining approach to examine the role of money arguments in marriage. The sample (N = 1,371) consists of married women. A collective bargaining framework provides a context for understanding money arguments within the marital relationship. Results indicate that costly communication is the dominant predictor of money arguments, followed by level and proportion of wife’s income, and household net worth. Because results suggest that both communication and financial resources are important components to understanding money arguments within marriage, a combination of professionals trained in marital therapy and/or financial planning is required for couples interested in seeking assistance to increase their satisfaction and/or avoid divorce

Money and Emerging Adults: A Glimpse into the Lives of College Couples’ Financial Management Practices

“…Understanding the context of financial management practices and the ways in which couples make financial decisions will help financial counselors and practitioners identify ways to prevent or reduce conflict by learning strategies for communicating about finances during times of financial stress. This consideration may help increase relationship satisfaction and reduce the risk of breakup or divorce in committed and married young adult couples (Britt et al, 2010). Due to the consistent trend of young adults in romantic relationships adopting financial management strategies during various life transitions, the opportunity for future research in this area is expansive.…”

“…Attending to these dual foci effectively, then, calls for crosstraining and/or collaborative efforts between multiple professionals (Britt et al, 2010;Dew & Stewart, 2012). And as we work with couples to better understand each other's histories, values, and habitudes around money en route to co-owning power and informed decisionmaking, they can begin to transition away from win/lose arguments to win/win solutions whereby both members' values and goals are honored.…”

“…This is typically during the early stages of their relationship-an opportune time to build on their commitment as a couple. When less focus is being put on resolving financial conflict, it is evident to see the significant impact of financial disagreements influenced by both money and relationship factors have on committed and married couples (Britt et al, 2010).…”

Dinheiro e conjugalidade: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

“…Nessa categoria foram incluídos (1 e 2) estudos que avaliaram o bem-estar fi nanceiro e os desacordos fi nanceiros associados à probabilidade de divórcio (Dew, 2011;Dew, Britt, & Huston, 2012). Os resultados apontaram que a percepção de desigualdade fi nanceira foi preditora de dissolução da união, e que os desacordos fi nanceiros foram fortes preditores para o divórcio; (3 e 4) Investigaram associações entre discussões sobre dinheiro e manejo dos confl itos conjugais no lar (Britt, Huston, & Durband, 2010;Papp, Cummings, & Goeke-Morey, 2009). Estes estudos concluíram que os cônjuges não classifi caram o dinheiro como fonte mais frequente de confl itos conjugais no lar.…”

Relationship Quality Among Young Couples from an Economic and Gender Perspective

“…According to Britt, Huston, and Durband (2010), "Couples with no, or infrequent, money arguments will generally have more resources (e.g., time, energy) to allocate to other activities as opposed to couples who argue about money more frequently" (p. 44). In other words, there is a finite amount of time in each day.…”