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This study examined the widely held but largely untested belief that financial issues affect marital satisfaction. The sample consisted of student families at Utah State University. The questionnaire included the Frequency of Financial Management and Frequency of Financial Problems Scales and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Financial management behaviors and perceptions of how well finances were managed, as well as financial problems and perceived magnitude of financial problems were found to be significantly related to respondents' marital satisfaction. This study supported the relationship between finances and marital satisfaction by identifying that 15% of marital satisfaction was predicted by financial factors. These results must be viewed with caution since the sample consisted exclusively of young, low income couples married for a short time.
Key words: Marital satisfaction, Financial management, Financial problems, Newlyweds, Family relations
Various authors, in publications ranging from academic literature to mass media, suggest that financial matters are closely related to family discord, marital problems, and even divorce (Bloom, Niles & Tatcher, 1985; Burkett, 1989; Godwin, 1990; Israelsen, 1990; Madanes, 1994; Notarius & Markman, 1993; Poduska, 1995). Lown & Chandler (1993) examined the empirical research in the literature and found little evidence to substantiate the frequently asserted relationship between financial matters and marital issues and concluded that such assertions were mostly anecdotal.
During the last decade it has become increasingly easier for individuals and couples to qualify, with little more than a signature, for loans and credit cards. While real personal income during this same time period experienced the smallest growth in years, personal indebtedness increased significantly (Bae, Hanna & Lindamood, 1993; Canner, Kennickell & Luckett, 1995; Godwin, 1996a). Taking the current trend of increasing indebtedness into consideration, it becomes ever more important to know if and to what extent finances affect marital relationships.
Conceptual Framework
The marital satisfaction concept has its roots in Social Exchange Theory (Thibault & Kelley, 1959), Role Theory (Waller & Hill, 1951), and Symbolic Interaction Theory ( Burr, Leigh, Day & Constantine, 1979). This study uses the definition of marital satisfaction as "a subjective evaluation of the overall degree to which needs, expectations, and desires are met in marriage" (Bahr, Chappell, and Leigh, 1983, p.797). It is operationalized as the marital satisfaction subscale of Spanier's (1976) dyadic adjustment...