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For richer, for poorer: Financial behaviors, power (im)balance, and relational aggression among different-gender newlyweds in the U.S
Family Process
Abstract
Guided by an intersectional feminism framework, we used three-wave, dyadic survey data from a nationally representative sample of 1625 U.S. different-gender newlywed couples to test three research questions. First, as balanced power is considered a key concept for relational well-being in feminism, we examined developmental trajectories in husbands' and wives' perception of power (im)balance. Second, considering money as a major influence on power and aggression, we examined how financial behaviors relate to power (im)balance and in turn relational aggression-a type of intimate partner violence that is controlling and manipulative in nature. Third, informed by the intersectionality between gender and socioeconomic status (SES), we examined gender differences and SES disparities in the associations among financial behaviors, developmental trajectories of perception of power (im)balance, and relational aggression. Our findings demonstrate that newlywed different-gender couples are experiencing power struggles, where two partners diminish each other's influence over time. We also found that healthy financial behaviors are associated with balanced power and, in turn, less relational aggression (especially for wives and in lower-SES households). Taken collectively, we continue calling for efforts to facilitate money management skills and promote balanced marital power.
... This high stake in men's money may render husbands' perception of financial communication problems particularly threatening to their feeling of power. Detecting the risk of losing dominance, husbands may socially sabotage their spouses (Jewkes et al., 2015;Li et al., 2023b). Meanwhile, as inequitable power against the wife increases, wives may be further suppressed in financial communication; this explains why women's feeling of powerlessness is associated with women's perception of more communication problems (Britt et al., 2010). ...
... The power (im)balance in a couple relationship was assessed using a version of the Perceived Power (Im)balance Scale (Li et al., 2023b;Miller et al., 2022). An example item was "My partner tends to discount my opinion (reverse)." ...
... Social sabotage was assessed using the six-item social sabotage measure validated by Li et al. (2023b). An example item was "My partner has spread negative information about me to be mean." ...
Adopting feminist and intersectional perspectives, this study focused on gendered experiences in financial communication, power dynamics, and social sabotage across lower- versus higher-income couples. Three-wave, dyadic data were collected from 1,093 married couples between 2020 and 2022, covering the period before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing a random-intercept, actor-partner interdependence cross-lagged panel model (i.e., RI-APIM-CLPM), this study was among the initial ones to investigate bidirectional, longitudinal associations among financial communication, power dynamics, and social sabotage. Across high- and low-income couples, bidirectional associations emerged between financial communication and social sabotage. Yet it was unexpected that financial communication problems and the experiences of being socially sabotaged seem to have depleted (vs. reinforced) each other for wives in the higher-income group. Unidirectional associations emerged such that financial communication predicted power (im)balance in high-income couples. Unidirectional associations emerged among low-income couples such that power (im)balance predicted financial communication problems and social sabotage. Our findings collectively suggested a spiral of financial communication problems, power inequity, and social sabotage. Our findings also demonstrated that wives in higher- and lower-income couples faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, though these challenges manifested in distinct forms. Thus, we remind practitioners and researchers of the necessity of considering the unique needs of men and women across different income statuses when addressing issues of financial communication problems, inequitable power, and social sabotage.
... After controlling for relevant factors reported to be associated with economic abuse (e.g., employment and other types of IPV; Kutin et al., 2017;Yau et al., 2020), our investigation on how financial behaviors and power (im)balance were associated with economic abuse sheds light on additional avenues for reducing economic abuse. Notably, financial behaviors, power (im)balance, and economic abuse all reflect privilege and inequity that are stratified by gender and socioeconomic status (SES) (Agnew & Cameron-Agnew, 2015;Kutin et al., 2019Kutin et al., , 2022Li, Wheeler, et al., 2023). Instead of focusing on overall associations within the whole sample, we further advance knowledge by investigating young adults' experiences across gender and SES. ...
... Thus, we followed the perspective of power as couple dynamics and focused particularly on power (im)balance during power process. To date, researchers have found preliminary evidence that balanced power in power process-the ideal situation where the two partners show equal influence and mutual respect during the decision-making process (Miller et al., 2022) -can be the mediator in associations between healthy financial behaviors and reduced economic abuse (Li, Wheeler, et al., 2023;Schuler & Nazneen, 2018). In a longitudinal, quantitative study, enacting healthy short-term money management (e.g., spending within budget and checking expenses regularly) was associated with balanced power in the next two years (Li, Wheeler, et al., 2023). ...
... To date, researchers have found preliminary evidence that balanced power in power process-the ideal situation where the two partners show equal influence and mutual respect during the decision-making process (Miller et al., 2022) -can be the mediator in associations between healthy financial behaviors and reduced economic abuse (Li, Wheeler, et al., 2023;Schuler & Nazneen, 2018). In a longitudinal, quantitative study, enacting healthy short-term money management (e.g., spending within budget and checking expenses regularly) was associated with balanced power in the next two years (Li, Wheeler, et al., 2023). According to life narratives, healthy long-term money management (e.g., initiating and regularly contributing to an investment account) can give voice to the previously powerless partner (Schuler & Nazneen, 2018). ...
Young adults are at high risk of experiencing economic abuse—a form of intimate partner violence (IPV)—and Chinese young adults in non-marital cohabitation are especially vulnerable. To reduce economic abuse, an important question to answer is: What factors are associated with economic abuse? After controlling for constructs (e.g., demographic information and other types of IPV) that were linked to economic abuse, we investigated how financial behaviors (i.e., individuals’ money management capability) were associated with power (im)balance (i.e., whether individuals shared equal influence with the romantic partner) and, in turn, economic abuse among non-marital cohabitating Chinese young adults. We also investigated whether associations among financial behaviors, power (im)balance, and economic abuse varied across young adults’ gender and SES. We used a Qualtrics survey to collect data from 445 non-marital cohabitating Chinese young adults (53.3% male vs. 46.7% female; 22.7% lower socioeconomic status [SES] vs. 77.3% higher-SES). A structural equation model was conducted to test the associations of research interests. We found that money management capability (e.g., spending within budget and tracking expenses) is associated with balanced power—the individual sharing equal influence with the partner in the decision-making process—and, in turn, less experience of being economically abused. These associations were statistically equivalent across gender and SES. Collectively, our findings suggested that promoting money management capability be a timely and new avenue for reducing economic abuse among Chinese young adults in non-marital cohabitation, possibly because this population faces common and severe economic abuse but generally lacks the opportunity to learn money management.
... D. LeBaron et al., 2014;Leonhardt et al., 2020) whereas an imbalance of power is shown to be associated with more negative couple outcomes (Byrne et al., 2004;A. B. LeBaron et al., 2019;Lennon et al., 2013;Li et al., 2023;Oka et al., 2016). Some couples engage in an imbalanced power dynamic where one partner is dominant and the other is adaptive (Bowen, 1974), but oftentimes with relational power, couples engage in more of a "power struggle" where both partners struggle to influence each other in different ways (Fishbane, 2011). ...
The present study explored longitudinal associations between marital power dynamics and parental psychological control and tested whether partners’ sense of relational autonomy mediated these connections. Self-determination theory supports that harmful marital dynamics may spill into parenting practices, such as engaging in parental psychological control, and that parents’ autonomy may mediate connections. Using an actor–partner interdependence model and an actor–partner interdependence mediation model, this study examined direct associations between marital power and parental psychological control, as well as indirect associations with autonomy as a mediator. Longitudinal dyadic data of 321 married, two-parent families were drawn from three waves of the Flourishing Families Project collected annually from 2009 to 2011. Results indicated that wives’ perceptions of a power struggle in the marriage were associated with both partners’ greater parental psychological control concurrently and were predictive of increases in their own parental psychological control across the span of 1 year. Although notable connections were found between marital power and autonomy, autonomy did not mediate pathways to parental psychological control. These findings highlight the importance of marital functioning in the use of certain parenting practices and suggest marital power as a potential intervention point when psychological control of children is present.
... Quanto as características dos agressores, têm-se que a faixa etária prevalente foi de 25 anos ou mais, enquanto em relação ao sexo, os homens se destacam entre os perpetradores mais prevalentes, o que remete as reflexões acerca das representações sociais, onde se atribui ao homem o poder e domínio na relação, reforçando o modelo equivocado de dominação masculina nas relações o que minimiza a figura da mulher, contribuindo para uma relação assimétrica, o que é um importante fator gerador da violência (30,31) . ...
Objectives
Identify the frequency of recurrent violence in cases reported in Espírito Santo and the associated factors.
Methods
Cross-sectional study. Which included data on violence in Espírito Santo from 2011 to 2018, from the Notifiable Diseases Information System, and, Statistical analyzes were performed using the chi-square test and Poisson regression.
Results
54.2% (N:14.966) of reported cases of violence are repeated, and higher prevalences were associated with female sex (PR:1.54), child (PR: 1.29) or elderly victims (PR: 1.25), the presence of disabilities/disorders (PR:1.42) and occurrence in urban/peri-urban areas (PR: 1.10). Furthermore, there is a greater frequency of injuries caused by a single aggressor (PR: 1.20), man (PR: 1.28), aged 25 or over (PR: 1.09), known to the victim (PR: 2.81) and at home (PR: 1.69).
Conclusion
The reported cases of violence showed a high frequency of recurrence, and were associated with the studied characteristics of the victim, the aggressor and the event.
Keywords:
Violence; Notification; Cross-Sectional Studies; Health Services; Public Health
... This leads to reflections on social representations, with men been perceived as the powerful and dominant figure in a relationship. This reinforces the mistaken model of male domination that minimizes women, contributing to an asymmetrical relationship, which is a key factor in the generation of violence (30,31) . ...
Objectives
Identify the frequency of recurrent violence in cases reported in Espírito Santo and the associated factors.
Methods
Cross-sectional study. Which included data on violence in Espírito Santo from 2011 to 2018, from the Notifiable Diseases Information System, and, Statistical analyzes were performed using the chi-square test and Poisson regression.
Results
54.2% (N:14.966) of reported cases of violence are repeated, and higher prevalences were associated with female sex (PR:1.54), child (PR: 1.29) or elderly victims (PR: 1.25), the presence of disabilities/disorders (PR:1.42) and occurrence in urban/peri-urban areas (PR: 1.10). Furthermore, there is a greater frequency of injuries caused by a single aggressor (PR: 1.20), man (PR: 1.28), aged 25 or over (PR: 1.09), known to the victim (PR: 2.81) and at home (PR: 1.69).
Conclusion
The reported cases of violence showed a high frequency of recurrence, and were associated with the studied characteristics of the victim, the aggressor and the event.
Keywords:
Violence; Notification; Cross-Sectional Studies; Health Services; Public Health
... and wives (W3 α = .85) that have been used in previous scholarship (e.g., Kelley et al., 2022;LeBaron et al., 2019;Leonhardt et al., 2020) and shown evidence for criterion validity, construct validity, and testretest reliability (Li et al., 2023). Participants were shown the statement "Please indicate how strongly you agree with the following" and, for the first four items, were shown the following statements: "My partner tends to discount my opinion," "My partner does not listen to me," "When I want to talk about a problem in our relationship, my partner often refuses to talk with me about it," and "When we do not agree on an issue, my partner gives me the cold shoulder." ...
Although it is typically thought that finances impact a couple’s marriage, research also suggests that the way couples navigate their marriage predicts how they navigate their finances. In this study, we examined whether and how a salient aspect of marriage, marital power, predicts financial management behaviors cross-sectionally and longitudinally among US newlywed dyads ( N = 1,215 couples). We found that agreement about the degree of shared power between spouses did not indirectly predict spouses’ financial management behaviors concurrently or across time. However, complete and near agreement of a high degree of shared power between spouses indirectly predicted both husbands’ and wives’ financial management behaviors concurrently through husbands’ marital commitment. Likewise, complete and near agreement of a high degree of shared power between spouses indirectly predicted changes in wives’ financial management behaviors through wives’ marital commitment. We discussed the implications of these findings for theory, future research, and practice.
Perceptions of power imbalance are common in relationships. We used the relational model of mindfulness to examine links between marital perceptions of power, relational and sexual well-being and to evaluate whether trait mindfulness and sexual mindfulness moderate these associations. Using a nationally representative sample (N = 1,519 couples at Wave III) of mixed-sex newlywed couples, an actor-partner-interdependence model indicated that trait mindfulness and state sexually mindful awareness buffered the link between men's and women's own perceived power imbalance and relational well-being. Sexually mindful non-judgment, however, accentuated the negative association between perceived power imbalance and sexual well-being for men. We discuss the need for therapists to consider the need to encourage mindful awareness to attenuate perceptions of power imbalances and to evaluate how sexually mindful non-judgment influences men's feelings of sexual well-being. Therapeutic implications of these findings are also discussed.
Finances, and how couples manage their finances, can have important implications for couples’ relational well-being. Using data from 1,585 couples that participated in the CREATE study (a nationally representative dyadic dataset of US newlywed couples), we examined how perceiving one’s spouse as a financial spender (ie, spending more than they ideally would) or financial tightwad (ie, spending less than they ideally would) was associated with several measures of relational well-being (ie, satisfaction, commitment, and power) through actor-partner interdependence structural equation models. Results showed that perceiving one’s partner as a spender was detrimental for both the individual’s and the partner’s marital satisfaction, marital commitment, and marital power. Perceiving one’s partner as a tightwad was detrimental for both the individual’s and the partner’s marital commitment and marital power. The findings suggest that interventions focused on perceptions of financial management behaviors may help strengthen relational well-being among newlyweds.
Feminism provides a worldview with innovative possibilities for scholarship and activism on behalf of families and intimate relationships. As a flexible framework capable of engaging with contentious theoretical ideas and the urgency of social change, feminism offers a simultaneous way to express an epistemology (knowledge), a methodology (the production of knowledge), an ontology (one’s subjective way of being in the world), and a praxis (the translation of knowledge into actions that produce beneficial social change). Feminist family science, in particular, advances critical, intersectional, and queer approaches to examine the uses and abuses of power and the multiple axes upon which individuals and families are privileged, marginalized, and oppressed in diverse social contexts. In this paper, I embrace feminism as a personal, professional (academic), and political project and use stories from my own life to illuminate broader social-historical structures, processes, and contexts associated with gender, race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, nationality, and other systems of social stratification. I provide a brief history and reflections on contemporary feminist theory and activism, particularly from the perspective of my disciplinary affiliation of feminist family science. I address feminism as an intersectional perspective through three themes: (a) theory: defining a critical feminist approach, (b) method: critical feminist autoethnographic research, and (c) praxis: transforming feminist theory into action. I conclude with takeaway messages for incorporating reflexivity and critical consciousness raising to provoke thought and action in the areas of personal, professional, and political change.
Relationship power, which refers to the ability to influence one’s romantic partner, is an important organizing principle in the assessment and treatment of couples. Power imbalance is predictive of various dimensions of marital quality, which explains why it is often a central focus of couple therapy. Despite the importance of relationship power in couple therapy, assessing power in clinical settings has been hindered by the lack of a validated measure of power that has high clinical utility. Data from 640 married couples associated with the Flourishing Families Project were used to develop the Perceived Power Imbalance Scale by conducting exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, dyadic predictive validity analysis, and measurement equivalence analysis. Although power has been conceptualized as consisting of both outcome power and process power, results indicated that the final scale consisted of four items that only tapped aspects of process power. The scale demonstrated good reliability and was a significant predictor of marital quality, marital instability, and depression.
Prior correlational research demonstrated that in a society with high income inequality, people are more likely to seek high status. The present study aimed to establish a causal relation between income inequality and status seeking by investigating the effects of perceived income inequality on the pursuit of positional goods. Moreover, we investigated whether the relation between perceived income inequality and the pursuit of positional goods is moderated by subjective social status. We manipulated high versus low income inequality and found that perceived income inequality increased the pursuit of positional goods among participants with low social status, but not among participants with high social status. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Spouses perceiving that they have shared power in marriage has been linked to higher marital quality and attachment security. Existing research, however, is limited in assessing how these perceptions influence both spouses and whether these influences endure over time. To address these limitations, we analyzed the longitudinal relationship reports from 319 couples from the Flourishing Families Project (FFP) to estimate biyearly (Waves 1, 3, and 5) and yearly (Waves 3-5) longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models. Reporting shared power in marriage was linked to the actors' higher marital quality and lower attachment insecurity over time (although less consistently for attachment insecurity). Longitudinal partner effects and indirect effects were also found from reports of shared marital power on both marital quality and attachment insecurity over time. The combined evidence suggests that power dynamics in a marriage are an important predictor of changes in couples' overall relational well-being. Accordingly, marriages appear to benefit from husbands and wives mutually seeking to help each other feel empowered in a relationship as equal and full partners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
The model of economic hardship (Conger et al. 1990) guided the current longitudinal study examining whether perceptions of relational aggression (love withdrawal/social sabotage) mediated the relationship between financial distress and marital quality concurrently (2009) and over 2 subsequent years (2010 & 2011). A modified dyadic longitudinal mediation model explored associations among 335 two-parent, heterosexual, married households following the recent economic recession. Data from three waves (2009, 2010, & 2011) of the Flourishing Families Project revealed that perceptions of social sabotage and love withdrawal partially mediated the relationships between both spouses’ financial distress and both spouses’ marital quality in 2009, but not in 2010 or 2011. Other findings, including indirect effects, and implications for research and practice are discussed.
Feminism is rarely used as a theoretical framework for couple finance research. The purposes of the present paper are (a) to discuss couple finance research in the context of feminism to encourage more frequent and explicit use of feminism in couple finance research, (b) to present a gender and couple finances model, and (c) to test this model with longitudinal dyadic data. Using actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) and data from 327 U.S. mixed-gender couples, relational power was explored as a potential mediator between four couple financial processes (earners of money, access to money, management of money, and conflict about money) and two relationship outcomes (relationship quality and relationship stability). Results suggest that couple financial processes are associated with relationship outcomes and with joint management as well as low conflict being key longitudinally. Additionally, although power may not play a mediating role, it appears to be connected to couple financial processes and relationship outcomes concurrently. Gender differences as well as both actor and partner effects are explored. This research has implications for researchers, clinicians, and educators. For example, clinicians may want to encourage their clients to use joint bank accounts, manage their money jointly, and minimize financial conflict. Gender, and therefore power, are inseparably tied to couple finances. When both spouses are involved in financial processes, partners tend to be more empowered, and relationship quality and stability tend to be higher.
This study aimed to revise and validate a Chinese version of Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory (C-PMWI). In the preparation phase, the PMWI was first revised for the possible cultural differences between Chinese and non-Chinese women. Supplementary items on use of electronic devices as a contemporary form of monitoring were added. Forward and back translated items were reviewed by a panel of intimate partner violence (IPV) experts, resulting in the scale-level content validity index of 0.94. Cognitive debriefing was conducted to confirm comprehensibility. The newly revised measure was administered to the sample of 1,198 Chinese women, recruited from community centers and shelters in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis conducted on data from half the sample revealed a two-factor structure similar to the original English version: emotional-verbal and dominance-isolation. This structure was verified by confirmatory factor analysis with the other half of the sample. Known-groups validity was demonstrated by significant differences in scores between women with different relationship histories. Moderate-to-strong correlations of the C-PMWI with other forms of IPV, controlling behaviors, relationship satisfaction, and depression established convergent validity. The C-PMWI showed good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha >.9 for the entire scale and each subscale. The intraclass correlation across administrations 2 weeks was >.9, demonstrating test–retest reliability. The use of the comprehensive validation procedures in the present study provided evidence for both cultural appropriateness and satisfactory psychometric properties of the C-PMWI. The C-PMWI shows promise as a useful instrument for research and clinical practice with Chinese women.
The reversal of the gender gap in education has reshaped the U.S. marriage market. Drawing on data from the 1980 U.S. Census and the 2008?2012 American Community Surveys, the author used log-linear models to examine gender asymmetry in educational and income assortative mating among newlyweds. Between 1980 and 2008?2012, educational assortative mating reversed from a tendency for women to marry up to a tendency for women to marry down in education, whereas the tendency for women to marry men with higher incomes than themselves persisted. Moreover, in both time periods, the tendency for women to marry up in income was generally greater among couples in which the wife's education level equaled or surpassed that of the husband than among couples in which the wife was less educated than the husband. The author discusses the implications of the rising female advantage in education for gender change in heterosexual marriages.
Inherent in applied developmental sciences is the threat to validity and generalizability due to missing data as a result of participant dropout. The current paper provides an overview of how attrition should be reported, which tests can examine the potential of bias due to attrition (e.g., t-tests, logistic regression, Little’s MCAR test, sensitivity analysis), and how it is best corrected through modern missing data analyses. To amend this discussion of best practices in managing and reporting attrition, an assessment of how developmental sciences currently handle attrition was conducted. Longitudinal studies (n ¼ 541) published from 2009–2012 in major developmental journals were reviewed for attrition reporting practices and how authors handled missing data based on recommendations in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2010). Results suggest attrition reporting is not following APA recommendations, quality of reporting did not improve since the APA publication, and a low proportion of authors provided sufficient information to
convey that data properly met the MAR assumption. An example based on simulated data demonstrates bias that may result from various missing data mechanisms in longitudinal data, the utility of auxiliary variables for the MAR assumption, and the need for viewing missingness along a continuum from MAR to MNAR.
Evidence illustrates that insecure romantic attachment predicts higher levels of relational aggression. However, no research has attempted to explain that relationship with mediating variables, such as relationship power, which is associated with attachment and partner violence. Data for this study included 457 couples from Wave 2 of the Flourishing Families Study. Actor Partner Interdependence results indicated that insecure attachment was significantly predictive of relational aggression actor effects. There was also a significant partner effect between male insecure attachment and female relational aggression, and power was a significant mediator between attachment and relational aggression for males and females.
The concept of hegemonic masculinity has been used in gender studies since the early-1980s to explain men’s power over women. Stressing the legitimating power of consent (rather than crude physical or political power to ensure submission), it has been used to explain men’s health behaviours and the use of violence. Gender activists and others seeking to change men’s relations with women have mobilised the concept of hegemonic masculinity in interventions, but the links between gender theory and activism have often not been explored. The translation of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ into interventions is little examined. We show how, in South Africa and Sweden, the concept has been used to inform theoretically-based gender interventions and to ensure that men are brought into broader social efforts to build gender equity. We discuss the practical translational challenges of using gender theory broadly, and hegemonic masculinity in particular, in a Swedish case study, of the intervention Machofabriken [The Macho Factory], and illustrate how the concept is brought to life in this activist work with men. The concept has considerable practical application in developing a sustainable praxis of theoretically grounded interventions that are more likely to have enduring effect, but evaluating broader societal change in hegemonic masculinity remains an enduring challenge.
The rising cost of higher education and questions of affordability are concerns for many families in the United States, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds. This article examines what we know about financial awareness and preparedness through a review of 39 empirical articles on the topic published between 2000 and 2013 in 24 peer-reviewed publications. The literature review highlights existing disparities by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Specifically, it examines challenges faced by students and parents when considering and preparing for college costs, and explores how current research discusses policies and practices to alleviate disparities in pre-college financial awareness and preparedness. This literature review reveals an intricate link between pre-college financial awareness and preparedness, in that information and awareness are often precursors to behaviors and preparations involved with financing a college education. Conclusions present implications for programs and policies designed to address these inequities and include recommendations for future research on this important, but under-researched topic.
BACKGROUND Studies explaining why cohabiters are more likely to keep money separate than spouses have mainly focused on selection processes, without taking into account the heterogeneity within both union types in levels of commitment. Cross-national studies are rare and have predominantly included Northern and Western European countries, the United States, and Canada. OBJECTIVE This study explains the higher likelihood of cohabiters to keep income separate by selection as well as commitment factors and explores country differences, including countries from Central and Eastern Europe. METHODS Using data from the Generations and Gender Surveys of Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Romania, and Russia, N=41,456 cohabiting and married individuals are studied. Binary logistic regression models of the likelihood that respondents keep money separate are calculated. RESULTS Across countries, higher education, female labor market participation, both partners being employed, short union duration, absence of joint children, presence of separation thoughts, and (for cohabiters) a lack of marital intentions are the most persistent correlates of keeping money separate. Differences between cohabiters and married couples are reduced when selection and commitment are taken into account, but are still significant. Cross-national variation in the effect of cohabitation on keeping separate purses is persistent. CONCLUSION Different money management strategies of cohabiters and spouses can be explained to some extent by selection processes and inherent differences in the level of commitment within cohabitation and marriage. Countries also differ in the socio-economic context and norms concerning the way intimate relationships are organized which might lead to persistent differences in the way cohabiting and married couples organize their income.
Relational aggression (RA) is a nonphysical form of aggression whereby the perpetrator's goal is to inflict or threaten damage
to relationships, including harm to the target child's social standing or reputation. This form of aggression may result in
long-term psychological harm to victims. This article defines RA, summarizes its development, and highlights some recent prevention
and intervention strategies to address RA in early childhood and elementary school settings. Studies span across urban, suburban,
and rural schools, along with various ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups. Although most interventions are universal
in scope, designed to prevent the onset of RA, some target specific groups at risk of developing RA, such as girls. Of the
13 programs reviewed, 12 are classroom-based prevention programs, with the length of implementation ranging from six weeks
to three years. Several longitudinal studies are presented (covering at least two academic years). Results indicate that although
most interventions decrease relationally aggressive behaviors and increase prosocial behaviors, effect sizes of interventions
vary. Whole-school antibullying programs do not appear to be effective. Suggestions for incorporating new interventions are
given, along with implications for school social work practice, education policy, and intervention research.
An unequal distribution of marital power has shown to have an impact on overall marital functioning, including marital quality and marital satisfaction. Women tend to have less power in marital relationships. Therefore, it is important for both researchers and clinicians to examine wives’ perceptions of marital power and marital happiness. The current study examined wives’ perceptions of marital power processes and power outcomes in heterosexual midlife marriages in relation to concurrent and subsequent marital happiness across a 15-year period. The results indicated that both marital power processes and power outcomes significantly influenced concurrent marital happiness. Additionally, concurrent marital happiness influenced marital happiness 15 years later, suggesting an indirect relationship between concurrent marital power and subsequent marital happiness. No direct relationship was found between marital power and subsequent marital happiness. The lack of significant findings between marital power and subsequent marital happiness is examined. Immediate and subsequent marital benefits of egalitarian marriages are discussed, and suggestions for effective clinical practice in addressing marital power are given.
Although research on financial management behavior is common, few financial management behavior scales exist that are simultaneously multi-dimensional, psychometrically validated, and validated using nationally representative data. Using data from a nationally representative sample of adults, this study developed and examined the psychometric properties of a new scale of financial management behaviors. The Financial Management Behavior Scale (FMBS) displayed adequate reliability (alpha = .81). The FMBS was highly associated with other measures of financial management behaviors and was predictive of participants’ actual levels of savings and consumer debt. These findings suggest that the full FMBS is a reliable and valid measure of financial management behaviors, though the subscales need refinement.
This study explores the effects of romantic relational aggression on intimate partner violence. The concept of relational aggression denotes a type of nonphysical aggression that is specific to relationships and that has only recently been recognized in the psychological literature. Using responses to the Conflict Tactics Scale from adults participating in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, romantic relational aggression is examined with regard to male and female intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization. Results indicate that romantic relational aggression is a predictor of partner violence perpetration and victimization among both males and females.
The assessment of mediation in dyadic data is an important issue if researchers are to test process models. Using an extended version of the actor–partner interdependence model the estimation and testing of mediation is complex, especially when dyad members are distinguishable (e.g., heterosexual couples). We show how the complexity of the model can be reduced by assuming specific dyadic patterns. Using structural equation modeling, we demonstrate how specific mediating effects and contrasts among effects can be tested by phantom models that permit point and bootstrap interval estimates. We illustrate the assessment of mediation and the strategies to simplify the model using data from heterosexual couples.
Research on trends in partner violence has primarily relied on official measures of victimization focusing primarily on women’s risk for intimate partner homicide. The current study uses 28 years of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to examine the trends of intimate partner violence against female victims and identify variation in women’s risk as a function of race and employment. Although it has been theorized that employment is correlated with the risk of intimate partner victimization for women, research has not thoroughly addressed this in a longitudinal context. In addition, research has not explored the extent to which intimate partner violence is correlated with the combined variables of race and employment. The authors find that between 1980 and the mid-2000s employment is associated with an increase in women’s risk for intimate partner violence. However, the conclusion that the rate of victimization is higher for employed women appears to be partly contingent on the victims’ race. The trend for non-White unemployed women appears to be relatively comparable to both White and non-White employed women, at least for the first 15 years of the series.
The aim of the study is to investigate how 2,084 U.S. college-educated young adults (61.9% female, and 69.5% non-Hispanic White) navigated the goal attainment process during the transition to adulthood. Using four-wave data collected across eight years, we examined how financial behaviors (self-regulating behaviors) predicted both depressive symptoms (affective goal attainment evaluations) and financial obstacles to goal attainment (cognitive goal attainment evaluations) via financial satisfaction (resources). Given the variability in developmental trajectories (i.e., initial levels and rates of over-time changes) among young adults, we conducted an exploratory mediational analysis with Latent Change Scores. The results revealed indirect-only mediation patterns, and 8 of 16 (50%) indirect effects via financial satisfaction were statistically significant. Collectively, we identified the salient roles of financial behaviors and financial satisfaction among young adults who pursued and attained life goals amid the financial difficulties during the 2007–2009 Great Recession. Our findings should be informative for promoting desired development among the current generation of young adults who were pursuing goals during the financial recession, primarily by indicating the necessity in implementing financial education and providing financial resources for young adults.
Objective
To understand challenges in the data collection environment for collecting nationally representative data and discuss one study's response to these challenges.
Background
The United States is undergoing impressive and transformational social change related to marriage. Social scientists' ability to study such changes are contingent on being able to minimize sampling error (the difference between the sample and the population), accomplished most reliably by collecting representative survey data and making concomitant generalizations from them. Given the expected low response rates in contemporary survey research, it is natural to ask whether it is still possible to collect high-quality, nationally representative survey data on marriage and family.
Method and Results
This article presents an argument about the importance of continuing to collect nationally representative data on marriages and families, a discussion about the challenges associated with the task, an example of how one project managed and dealt with that environment, and data comparisons between multiple sampling methods.
Conclusion
Despite the challenges, scholars must continue to pursue nationally representative data to inform knowledge of national trends and relationships.
Implications
A greater focus on sampling methods and a study's concomitant generalizability and external validity will improve knowledge of trends in marriage and family relationships, leading to improved therapeutic practice; more informed policymaking; and better theoretical, conceptual, and methodological understanding of key family processes and outcomes.
The ways that couples form and manage their intimate relationships at higher and lower levels of socioeconomic status (SES) have been diverging steadily over the past several decades. At higher SES levels, couples postpone marriage and childbirth to invest in education and careers, but they eventually marry at high rates and have relatively low risk for divorce. At lower SES levels, couples are more likely to cohabit and give birth prior to marriage and less likely to marry at all. This review examines how SES comes to be associated with the formation, development, and dissolution of intimate relationships. Overall, research has highlighted how a couple's socioeconomic context facilitates some choices and constrains others, resulting in different capacities for relationship maintenance and different adaptive mating strategies for more and less advantaged couples. A generalizable relationship science requires research that acknowledges these differences and one that recruits, describes, and attends to socioeconomic diversity across couples.
Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 72 is January 4, 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Effect size is crucial for quantifying differences and a key concept behind Type I errors and power, but measures of effect size are seldom studied in structural equation modeling (SEM). While fit indices such as the root mean square error of approximation may address the severity of model misspecification, they are not a direct generalization of commonly used effect size measures such as Cohen’s d. Moreover, with violations of normality and when a test statistic does not follow a noncentral chi-square distribution, measures of misfit that are defined through the assumed distribution of the test statistic are no longer valid.
In this study, two new classes of effect size measures for SEM are developed by generalizing Cohen’s d. The first class consists of definitions that are theoretically equivalent to , the population counterpart of the normal-distribution-based discrepancy function. The second class of effect size measures bears a stricter resemblance to Cohen’s d in its original form. Several versions of these generalizations are investigated to identify the one that is least affected by sample size and population distribution but most sensitive to model misspecification. Their performances under violated distributional assumptions, severity of model misspecification, and various sample sizes are examined using both normal maximum likelihood estimation and robust M-estimation. Monte Carlo results indicate that one measure in the first class of effect size measures is little affected by sample size and distribution while preserving sensitivity to model misspecification and thus is recommended for researchers to report in publications.
This research examined how perceived economic mobility (PEM) relates to domain-specific behaviors of financial management, specifically cash management, credit management, and savings and investment, for a sample of 1,245 young adults age 18–34. Using data collected by an online survey administration organization, research results indicated a significant positive relationship between PEM and the financial behaviors of cash management and savings and investment. Control variables of income level, family of origin’s perceived (FOP) income level, age, gender, education level, and employment also showed varying levels of significance across the three financial behaviors. Findings, to be considered in financial policy-making, indicated significant interactions between PEM and FOP income levels for cash management and between PEM and current income for credit management.
Studies addressing the relationship between women's empowerment and intimate partner violence (IPV) have yielded conflicting findings. Some suggest that women's economic and social empowerment is associated with an increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV), arguably because men use often IPV to enforce their dominance and reassert inegalitarian gender norms when patriarchal norms are challenged; other studies suggest the converse. It is important to understand why these findings are contradictory to create a more sound basis for designing both women's empowerment interventions and anti-violence interventions. The aim of this study is to clarify the relationship between women's empowerment and IPV in a setting where gender roles are rapidly changing and IPV rates are high. We examine some of the ways in which the nature of women's empowerment evolved in six villages in rural Bangladesh during a 12-year period in which surveys have documented a decline of 11 points in the percentage of married women experiencing IPV in the prior year. The paper is based on data from 74 life history narratives elicited from 2011 to 2013 with recently married Bangladeshi women from the six villages, whom other community residents identified as empowered. Our findings suggest that women's empowerment has evolved in several ways that may be contributing to reductions in IPV: in its magnitude (for example, many women are earning more income than they previously did), in women's perceived exit options from abusive marriages, in the propensity of community members to intervene when IPV occurs, and in the normative status of empowerment (it is less likely to be seen as transgressive of gender norms). The finding that community-level perceptions of empowered women can evolve over time may go a long way in explaining the discrepant results in the literature.
The majority of IPV research has originated from western countries and neglected to examine cultural influences.We meta-analyzed the strength of various well-established risk markers (demographic, individual-level and relational) for male-perpetrated IPV across different cultures.Using Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov's (2010) individualism scale, we grouped studies from countries into individualist and collectivist categories, and then accounted for the influence of the large number of U.S.-based studies, by creating 3 groups:U.S., Individualistic, and Collectivist.Risk markers across collectivist and U.S. groups had similar effect sizes across while risk markers in the U.S. had larger effect sizes than those found in the international individualist countries.Our findings suggest that if a comprehensive understanding of IPV perpetration is to be achieved, cultural context cannot be ignored.
Feminist perspectives on family relationships begin with the critique of the idealized template of the White, middle class, heterosexually married couple and their dependent children. Feminist scholars take family diversity and complexity as their starting point, by emphasizing how power infuses all of family relationships, from the local to the global scale. As the main location for caring and productive labor, families are the primary unit for providing gendered socialization and distributing power across the generations. In this issue and two subsequent issues of Sex Roles, we have collected theoretical and empirical articles that include critical analyses, case studies, quantitative studies, and qualitative studies that focus on a wide array of substantive topics in the examination of families. These topics include variations in marital and intimate partnerships and dissolution; motherhood and fatherhood in relation to ideology and practice; intergenerational parent–child relationships and socialization practices; and paid and unpaid labor. All of the articles across the three issues are guided by a type of feminist theory (e.g., gender theory; intersectional theory; Black feminist theory; globalization theory; queer theory) and many incorporate multiple theoretical perspectives, including mainstream social and behavioral science theories. Another feature of the collection is the authors’ insistence on conducting research that makes a difference in the lives of the individuals and families they study, thereby generating a wealth of practical strategies for relevant future research and empowering social change. In this introduction, we specifically address the first six articles in the special collection on feminist perspectives on family relationships.
Most research studying family financial behavior of racial/ethnic groups has ignored Asian households or arbitrarily combined them with other racial/ethnic groups. We treated Asian households as a separate racial/ethnic group to compare twelve financial behaviors and attitudes of Asian households to those of three other racial/ethnic groups: White, Black and Hispanic. Using multivariate analyses with the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), we found differences in seven behaviors/attitudes between Asian households and each of the other three household types, although the differences were not consistent across groups except for a lower credit delinquency rate of Asian households. Our results suggest that Asian households should be analyzed as a separate group and should not be combined with other racial/ethnic groups for comparison purposes. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2591731
The lower level of financial literacy amongst females relative to males has been well documented in the literature. There has however been a less than compelling argument constructed as to why this discrepancy occurs. This paper introduces findings showing the influence the home, particularly financial discussions in the home, has on the financial literacy levels of children and young adults. A key finding is that males have their first financial discussion in the home at a younger age than females on average, with this differential statistically significant across students of differing socioeconomic status. For males, the age of the child when they have their first financial discussion in the home influences their financial literacy levels some years later at university, even accounting for other variables such as socioeconomic status. The findings of this paper suggest that financial socialisation in the home may be subject to a gender bias, which over time contributes to differential financial literacy knowledge levels between the genders. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The description of types of power as formulated in small group theory is applied to power structure in marriage. The relevance of five types of power—referent, expert, reward, coercive, and legitimate—to selected marriage studies and theory is discussed. The new hypothesis advanced is that the "ideal" role to which spouses aspire is the basis of referent power in marriage. Questions are raised regarding current social influence on power balance, equilibrium in families with young children and working wives, and the effect of open- or closed-mindedness on the bases of power.
The majority of youth consistently receive failing scores on financial literacy tests—even those who have taken courses on personal finance or money management. Some specific programs, however, have demonstrated beneficial effects. Thus, it is imperative to identify the key considerations and promising delivery methods which may inform positive changes in financial literacy and/or behavior among youth. In the present study, we conducted a comprehensive review of the current literature on youth financial literacy education, with the goal of identifying characteristics of financial education programs which may influence positive changes. The findings from the literature on these key considerations and promising delivery methods are discussed in detail, with attention given to developmental considerations as appropriate.
Research shows that equal power helps couples create intimacy and relationship success. However, though couples increasingly desire equal relationships, cultural models of mutual support are not well developed. Clinicians often approach heterosexual couple therapy as though partners are inherently equal, thus reinforcing unacknowledged gender inequities. This article examines research that shows why power imbalances are destructive to intimate relationships and focuses on four gender-related aspects of mutual support: (a) shared relational responsibility, (b) mutual vulnerability, (c) mutual attunement, and (d) shared influence. Case examples illustrate how socio-emotional attunement, interrupting the flow of power, and introducing alternative relational experience help couple therapists identify and address power disparities in these important relational processes. Encouraging the powerful person to take relational initiative and introducing alternative gender discourse are especially important.
We examine whether institutionalized practices and beliefs regarding breadwinning roles are associated with the choice of more or less equal money management strategies in marriage. Using cross-national data from 21 country contexts in the International Social Survey Programme and multilevel modeling, we find that in contexts of shared breadwinning, there is a greater likelihood of shared management of money, controlling for the relative income contribution of each spouse. We also find some evidence that the effect of spouses’ relative income contributions diminishes in contexts of shared breadwinning. Our analysis comparing women’s and men’s money management is consistent with previous research indicating that women’s management may be more work than power.
This article presents one of the first comprehensive reviews of intersectionality literature for a family studies audience. The purpose of this article is manifold: (1) to review the interdisciplinary scholarship on intersectionality as a theoretical approach, paradigm, or method; (2) to review methodological considerations using intersectionality as a theoretical guide to conduct research; and (3) to examine how contemporary family scholars are utilizing an intersectional approach to examine the complexities of identity, relational process, and social interactions with larger institutional forces. I conclude with an evaluation of the benefits and challenges of using an intersectional approach to the study of contemporary families.
In this article, the author describes sweeping changes in the gender system and offers explanations for why change has been uneven. Because the devaluation of activities done by women has changed little, women have had strong incentive to enter male jobs, but men have had little incentive to take on female activities or jobs. The gender egalitarianism that gained traction was the notion that women should have access to upward mobility and to all areas of schooling and jobs. But persistent gender essentialism means that most people follow gender-typical paths except when upward mobility is impossible otherwise. Middle-class women entered managerial and professional jobs more than working-class women integrated blue-collar jobs because the latter were able to move up while choosing a “female” occupation; many mothers of middle-class women were already in the highest-status female occupations. The author also notes a number of gender-egalitarian trends that have stalled.
This study explored how Korean men married to migrant women construct meaning around married life. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 10 men who had had been married to migrant women for ≥ 2 years. Data collection and analysis were performed concurrently using a grounded theory approach. The core category generated was the process of sustaining a family unit. The men came to understand the importance of a distribution of power within the family in sustaining the family unit. Constituting this process were four stages: recognizing an imbalance of power, relinquishing power, empowering, and fine-tuning the balance of power. This study provides important insight into the dynamics of marital power from men's point of view by demonstrating a link between the way people adjust to married life and the process by which married couples adjust through the distribution and redistribution of power.
Most women and men at the upper end of the social-class continuum express greater desire to share paid and unpaid labor equally, whereas less educated couples with less skilled occupations and less money tend to voice more enthusiasm for specialized gender roles. But the behavior of many couples does not align fully with their attitudes, thus leading them to live unexpectedly egalitarian or nonegalitarian lives. I argue that this gender-equality paradox is explained by social structures related to the organization of work and family that act as potent counterforces to attitudes. After reviewing the literature on social class, gender-egalitarian attitudes, and behavior, I develop a theory of lived and spoken gender egalitarianism to explain these patterns.
Since the mid-1980s, scholarship and college courses that address multiple dimensions of inequality under the rubric of race, class, gender, and (recently) sexuality studies have grown rapidly. Most courses now employ a set of readings, many of which are drawn from a growing number of anthologies. A strength of this approach is its presentation of the diversity of human experiences and the multiplicity of critical perspectives. A weakness is its failure to convey the commonalities in race, class, gender, and sexuality analyses of social reality. To aid in teaching and research on race, class, gender, and sexuality, this article presents six common themes that characterize this scholarship. Race, class, gender, and sexuality are historically and globally specific, socially constructed power relations that simultaneously operate at both the macro (societal) and micro (individual) levels of society. Scholarship in this tradition emphasizes the interdependence of knowledge and activism.
This study was designed to assess the modeling and teaching of adult financial roles to children and adolescents and the implementation of those roles in early adulthood. The study also assessed the impact of various demographic variables on financial role transfer. Young adults felt only adequately taught and moderately prepared to perform financial tasks. Financial role transfer is taking place most often from parents in the home, rather than sources outside the home. Financial tasks needed in teen years are modeled and taught more frequently and thoroughly in the home than the financial tasks needed in emerging adulthood. Fathers modeled financial tasks more frequently than mothers. When mothers modeled financial tasks and adolescents practiced those tasks, frequency of performance as young adults increased and they felt more financially prepared. Frequency of performance is also enhanced when financial tasks are considered the responsibility of the entire family while growing up.
This study had three goals: (a) To investigate gender differences in relational aggression and victimization within young adults' romantic relationships, (b) to investigate associations between romantic relational aggression and victimization and perceptions of romantic relationship quality, and (c) to explore parent and peer predictors of romantic relational aggression and victimization. College students (70 females and 34 males) completed self-reports of romantic relational aggression and victimization, and parent, peer, and romantic relationship quality. Men and women reported equal levels of romantic relational aggression, and men reported higher levels of victimization than women. Aggression and victimization were positively correlated with negative romantic relationship qualities and negatively correlated with positive relationship qualities. Regression analyses indicated that both romantic relational victimization and romantic relational aggression explained variance in romantic relationship quality. There were several significant associations between parent and peer relationship quality and romantic relational aggression and victimization, which suggest that poor relationships with parents and peers may play a role in the development and maintenance of these behaviors.
This paper investigates money matters in remarried couples. The number of such couples is on the increase, and their financial affairs are likely to be more complex and conflictual than for first-married couples, but there has been little research attention paid to this group in Britain. The present study explores patterns of control and management of money by means of data from semi-structured interviews with 20 couples in which one partner or both had been married before. The men and women were interviewed separately, but in the majority of cases, simultaneously, in separate rooms. This yielded data from 38 interviews since two men declined to take part in the study. Ages of respondents ranged from 28 to 83, with the majority in the 30–55 range. At the time of the study, only half still had dependent children, and not all of the latter were co-resident.
A key finding of the study is a degree of separateness in financial arrangements that is in sharp contrast to earlier findings. As many as half of the couples were using an Independent Management system, compared with less than 2 per cent of couples in general. For those with children from previous relationships, this separateness was especially marked in the way they wished their assets to be treated after their death. However, in line with earlier studies, the balance of economic power in second and subsequent marriages still appeared to favour the men, who generally had larger incomes and owned more assets in their own names.
This paper examines sociocultural factors that influence how same-sex intimate partner violence is viewed, studied, reported
and treated, with a specific focus on the effects of gender-role socialization and heterosexism. Further it summarizes the
similarities and differences experienced by heterosexual and same-sex couples in order to provide a framework for understanding
the unique factors that must be considered when working with this population. It also explores how gender-role socializations
and heterosexism create and enforce stigmas and obstacles for validation and reporting of this abuse. The exacerbation of
same-sex partner abuse by the dominant and sexual minority culture is addressed and problems that exist within the legal system
are highlighted. Issues created by the power dynamics of intersecting identities (race, socioeconomic status, age, disability,
sexual orientation) and minority stress are discussed. Suggestions for supportive legislation and implications for helping
professionals are provided.
Power disparities underlie many of the issues that couples bring for therapy. People in relationships are not equal; often
one partner is systematically conferred unearned advantage and dominance. This article synthesizes results from three qualitative
research studies to propose a social justice approach for clinical practice with couples. Interventions are suggested to keep
issues of power and privilege a central focus while addressing the ordinary issues partners present for therapy.
Although female breadwinners (FBWs) are increasingly common in industrialized society and challenge traditional western gender
norms, little research has focused specifically on the experiences of FBWs. These experiences impact individual, family, and
organizational decision making. Thus, this project uses a phenomenological method to explore the experiences and gendered
identity negotiations of 15 FBWs from the eastern and midwestern U.S. who were recruited via electronic message boards and
personal contacts. The study asks how these women experience the phenomenon of being the breadwinner, seeking common elements.
Results indicate six essential elements of FBWs’ experiences: (a) having control, (b) valuing independence, (c) feeling pressure
and worry, (d) valuing partner’s contributions, (e) feeling guilt and resentment, and (f) valuing career progress.