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Journal of Relationships Research Journal of Relationships Research

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Change in Disagreements About Money, Time, and Sex and Marital Outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Brandan Wheeler [Opens in a new window]  and
Jennifer Kerpelman [Opens in a new window]
Brandan Wheeler
Affiliation:
School of Human Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi, USA College of Human Sciences, Auburn University, Alabama, USA
Jennifer Kerpelman
Affiliation:
School of Human Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi, USA College of Human Sciences, Auburn University, Alabama, USA
Corresponding
E-mail address:
bwheeler@humansci.msstate.edu
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Abstract

Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, an actor-partner interdependence model explored change in the frequency of disagreements and marital outcomes among 796 paired couples, early in marriage. Disagreements about money, time spent together, and the sexual relationship increased over 5 years. Money disagreements predicted disagreements about time and sex for husbands. Spillover findings showed disagreements about money and sex were related negatively to marital satisfaction. Disagreements in all three areas predicted marital instability for husbands, although only disagreements about money and time predicted marital instability for wives. Crossover findings showed husbands’ disagreements about money to be related negatively to wives’ marital satisfaction. Implications of the current findings are discussed.

Keywords

disagreements early marriage marital outcomes actor-partner interdependence model spillover and crossover effects
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 7 , 2016 , e6
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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