When couples fight about money, what do they fight about?

Abstract

Conflicts about money and finances can be destructive for both the quality and longevity of relationships. This paper reports on a descriptive analysis of the contents of financial conflicts in two samples. Study 1 examined severe financial conflicts in social media posts ( N = 1014) from reddit ( r/relationships). Eight themes were identified via thematic analysis: “unfair relative contributions” “who pays for joint expenses”, “job and income”, “exceptional expenses”, “terms of financial arrangements”, “discrepant financial values”, “one-sided financial decisions”, and “perceived irresponsibility”. Study 2 examined reports of more mundane financial disagreements recalled by married individuals ( N = 481). Seven themes were identified via thematic analysis: “relative contributions”, “job and income”, “different values”, “exceptional expenses”, “mundane expenses”, “money management”, and “perceived irresponsibility”. In both samples, themes could be ordered along the dimensions of “concerns about fairness” and “concerns about responsibility”. The association of relationship outcomes (perceived partner responsiveness, couple satisfaction) with each theme and demographic predictors (income, relationship length, shared finances) were explored. Independent t-tests suggested that participants who recalled disagreements fitting the themes at the extreme ends of the two dimensions (“unfair relative contributions” and “perceived irresponsibility”) reported worse relationship outcomes. In contrast, participants recalling disagreements fitting the theme of “mundane expenses” reported better relationship outcomes.

Digging Deeper: Gender-Related Stressors and Coping Strategies Among Farmers (N=1,394)

“…Differences in coping mechanisms also emerged. There were no coping categories where male students had increased rates over females, while females reported higher rates of self-distraction, venting, emotional support, and instrumental support aligning with previous research suggesting that women tend to employ passive and emotion-based coping strategies (Peetz, Meloff, & Royle, 2023;Ptacek, Smith, & Zanas, 1992).…”

“…They remain a signi cant social challenge at home and in the workplace. This challenge is frequently document in current research which highlights fairness issues, such as nancial and time contributions as a major source of controversy within married couples' households (Peetz, Meloff, & Royle, 2023). The United States Department of Labor reports a substantial increase in women's presence in the workforce, rising from approximately 28% in 1950 to 47% in 2020 (US Department of Labor, 2022).…”