Linking Economic Hardship to Marital Quality and Instability

TLDR

The study investigates how economic hardship affects marital quality and instability by examining its influence on the quality of marital interactions and the hostile irritable response of men to financial difficulties. The authors used a sample of 76 white middle‑class couples from a rural Midwestern county in the US to test these propositions. Economic pressures indirectly lower marital evaluation by increasing hostility and reducing warmth, with the effect strongest for husbands, confirming prior links between negative affect and marital distress and highlighting the need to study warmth and support. Authors: (authors).

Abstract

Utilizing a sample of 76 white middle-class couples from a rural midwestern county in the US this study examines 2 central propositions: 1)the negative impact of economic hardship on a spouses marital quality (happiness/satisfaction) or marital instability (thoughts or actions related to divorce) is in part a function of its influence on the effective quality of marital interactions and 2) this process is particularly applicable to the hostile irritable response of men to financial difficulties. A series of analyses supported these propositions. Economic pressures had an indirect association with married couples evaluation of the marriage by promoting hostility in marital interactions and curtailing the warm and supportive behaviors spouses express toward one another. The hypothesized process was most pronounced for husbands whose behavior was more strongly associated with economic problems than wives behavior. Findings from the study are consistent with previous research that identifies negative affect as a principal behavioral correlate of marital distress; however the results also suggest that more research needs to be done on the role of warmth and supportiveness in promoting marital quality. (authors)