Keywords

marital commitment, recession, religiosity, relationship maintenance behaviors, social support

Abstract

Although some studies have examined factors that can help married couples maintain their relationship quality during financial stress, few have examined factors that might actually help marriages flourish during financial stress. This study examined participants’ reports of their commitment increasing because of the 2007–2009 Recession using dyadic data from a national sample of married couples. We found that religious marital sanctification, relationship maintenance behaviors, and social and financial support from family and friends were all related to both wives’ and husbands’ reports that their commitment had increased during the Recession. Wives who faced employment- or housing-related problems reported increased commitment. Finally, the more economic pressure participants felt during the Recession, the more their relationship commitment increased.

Original Publication Citation

Dew, J. P., LeBaron, A.*, & Allsop, D.† (2018). Can stress build relationships? Predictors of increased marital commitment resulting from the 2007–2009 recession. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39, 405–421.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018-01-27

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7345

Publisher

Journal of Family and Economic Issues

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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