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Pathways from Financial Knowledge to Relationship Satisfaction: The Roles of Financial Behaviors, Perceived Shared Financial Values with the Romantic Partner, and Debt

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Abstract

We examined how subjective and objective financial knowledge were associated with relationship satisfaction through pathways of finance-related rewards (positive financial behaviors, perceived shared financial values with the romantic partner, or lower debt) in a sample of cohabiting or married young adults (N = 162). We used Waves 2, 3, and 4 of the Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) study to conduct path analyses. No pathways were significant in longitudinal models. In the cross-sectional models (Wave 4), we found individuals’ own subjective (but not objective) financial knowledge was associated with relationship satisfaction. This association was indirect in the model with perceived shared financial values, demonstrating that shared financial values with the romantic partner may be a key mechanism linking financial knowledge to improved relationship quality.

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Acknowledgements

This research uses data from the Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students Project (APLUS), directed by Joyce Serido at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and founded and co-directed by Soyeon Shim at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Information on how to obtain access to the APLUS data files is available on the APLUS website https://www.aplushappiness.org/. Data collection was funded by the National Endowment for Financial Education, Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates, and Citi Foundation. Funding support for this research was provided to Serido through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Hatch Grant #006781).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development and Family Studies, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487-0160, USA

    Casey J. Totenhagen

  2. Consumer Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USA

    Melissa J. Wilmarth

  3. Family Social Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, USA

    Joyce Serido

  4. Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA

    Melissa A. Curran

  5. School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA

    Soyeon Shim

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  1. Casey J. Totenhagen
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Correspondence to Casey J. Totenhagen.

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Totenhagen, C.J., Wilmarth, M.J., Serido, J. et al. Pathways from Financial Knowledge to Relationship Satisfaction: The Roles of Financial Behaviors, Perceived Shared Financial Values with the Romantic Partner, and Debt. J Fam Econ Iss 40, 423–437 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-019-09611-9

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